All Quiet On The Biz Travel Front

In its newly released Global Business Travel Forecast for 2017, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) says that after an uneven 2016 that saw only limited increases in overall pricing, the business travel outlook for next year looks to be similarly subdued, with flat to moderate rate increases expected globally across air, hotel and ground transportation.

The forecast notes that the continued slowdown of the Chinese economy and depressed oil prices, the United Kingdom’s impending departure from the European Union, growing populist politics and increased security concerns in many countries have together created a higher level of uncertainty in the global marketplace.

It remains to be seen how this will impact business travel over the next year.

Additional global highlights include:

• Air – Global demand for air travel remains at a record high; persistently low fuel prices and strong competition will help keep airline fares in check.
• Hotel — Hotel performance will improve moderately and prices will remain flat in most regions with the exception of Latin America, where rates will decline slightly, and Asia Pacific, where the impact varies greatly by country.
• Ground: Ground transportation has undoubtedly felt the impact of new industry players and rates should remain flat as capacity continues to exceed demand.

Rodolfo Elizondo, vice-president and head of global business consulting at American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), believes that in this period of political and economic uncertainty, companies and business leaders will welcome news that the cost of business travel may, at worst, endure only modest increases.

“Travel managers should focus on the things they can control, like demand management, compliance
and traveller satisfaction to reduce risk and increase savings.” Elizondo said.

For more, go to http://www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com .