The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is predicting continued increases in business travel costs for the coming year, it announced this week in a new report. Titled
Business Travel Overview & Cost Forecast, the report projects an increase of 5 to 8 percent in business travel costs during the course of 2009, which will result in slower than normal business travel growth due to an increase in cost containment strategies among travel managers.
"This year we saw a slowdown in the growth of business travel from the rate of growth we saw in 2004 through 2007," NBTA President and CEO Kevin Maguire, CCTE, GLP, said in a statement. "In 2009 we will see a continuation of that slowdown in growth. The expansion of the trend is the result of measures travel managers are implementing to contain travel costs during an economic downturn."
Specifically, NBTA predicts an increase in the number of several cost-containment strategies, including:
• Reducing non-essential travel
• Enforcing new travel policy mandates
• Implementing technology that enables them to streamline expense reporting and monitor spending
"The measures vary widely from company to company," Maguire continued. "In some companies, we are already seeing major cutbacks in travel, while other companies have higher travel budgets in place for 2009. Across the board, we can expect to see some changes in the way travel is managed to further maximize value."
Additionally, NBTA predicts the following changes in business travel rates:
• Published airfares will increase a projected 7 to 10 percent in 2009 over 2008.
• Hotel rates will increase a projected 1 to 4 percent.
• Car rental rates will increase a projected 1 to 3 percent.
For more information about NBTA's
Business Travel Overview & Cost Forecast, visit
www.nbta.org/Research/Surveys.