A survey of 600 European business travelers commissioned by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) shows that business travel and face-to-face meetings are holding up across the Atlantic, despite the global economic downturn.
The survey, conducted in association with Vanson Bourne, found that 52 percent of European business travelers expect to continue with their current level of business travel over the next 12 months, while 22 percent believe they'll actually be traveling more for business. Only 26 percent said they expect less business travel, and of those, 50 percent said they expect traveling less to have a negative impact on their business.
It's no surprise that business travelers are still hitting the road in European countries, as the NBTA survey indicates a strong preference for face-to-face meetings. In fact, 20 percent of European business travelers said they'd never used a conference call service, while 50 percent of those who had said they use them to complement face-to-face meetings rather than replace them. Similarly, 35 percent of travelers said they'd never used a videoconferencing, while 41 percent of those who have said they use them in concert with face-to-face meetings.
While specific numbers weren't released, NBTA said webinars and virtual meetings also had low levels of awareness and usage among survey respondents.
While the data suggest that business travel is still strong in Europe, it also indicates that travel is contingent on several factors. For 62 percent of travelers, the most important is convenience. For 25 percent, meanwhile, it's cost, which appears to be more important to companies than individuals, as more than one-third of respondents (36 percent) said their companies have mandated cheaper travel during the last six months. Of those, 35 percent have moved to cheaper airlines and tickets, 29 percent to a cheaper class of travel and 36 percent to cheaper accommodations.
"Overall the findings are encouraging," NBTA President and CEO Kevin Maguire said in a statement. "The value of personal interaction is clearly understood and supported by European business travelers, but there's also a need to be watchful, especially around balancing the needs of traveling employees against the need to cut costs. It's clear from the research that travel managers must understand how their colleagues' traveling priorities differ."