The vast majority of German business travelers expect that the volume of business travel in the next five years will grow or at least remain constant. This is the result of the study “Management Issues Business Travel 2014" by Travel Management Companies on behalf of the Deutschen ReiseVerband (German Travel Association) (DRV).
The study "Management Issues Business Travel 2014" (Chefsache Business Travel 2014) interviewed 110 German managers, who travel regularly for business, as well as 110 managers and professionals from companies of 250+ employees. The data was collected from 2nd to 14th October 2013.
It has often been discussed in the past whether business travel, in light of new developments such as video conference, would become extinct. Current data show the opposite: in 2013 the number of business trips in Germany rose to 171.1 million (+3% in comparison to 2012). The participants in the DRV study assume that the trend will continue.
Fifty-two percent are of the opinion that the number of business travelers will increase over the next five years. Forty-two percent expect no change. Only six percent expect a decrease in business travel volume.
The ‘under 40’ age group expects an increase: 60 percent of them expect that they will travel even more. Amongst the older respondents it is only 45 percent.
“The next generation has observed that the mega trend of globalization continues,” said Stefan Vorndran, Chairman of the Business Travel in the DRV. “In many developing countries, there are new opportunities for the German economy, even though the market is not stable everywhere.”
Even senior management shares this view: 57 percent of managers and directors expect that there will be more business travel in the future. Among the other professionals and management only 47 percent share this opinion. "Trust comes only through personal contact," says Stefan Vorndran. "Especially for the first meeting with customers or suppliers business travel is irreplaceable."
Companies that also work with experts in the travel management branch are well prepared for the growing global network. Professional business travel agencies ensure efficient planning and booking and are making every effort to ensure that travelers before, during and after the trip are completely informed.