Infographic: CWT predicts business travel trends for 2012
By David Flynn, December 12 2011
IN BRIEF | The world's largest corporate travel management company, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, put together this interesting infographic to spotlight what it believes will be the key trends in business travel for 2102.
(For a larger view, click on the image above, or for even bigger you can open the full-sized image (942KB) in a new window.)
Here are five quick take-outs.
- Ancillary fees and surcharges piled on top of your airline ticket or hotel room "will continue to bump up the cost of travel across all categories". Low up-front airfares or per-night room rates will remain the bait on the hook, but a raft of unexpected add-on charges will be the gotcha.
- While CTW forecasts "less choice is likely on some domestic (aircraft) routes, particularly in the United States", there's good news for Australian business travellers due to "significant increases in international capacity and competition, especially in Asia Pacific, thanks to new low-cost carriers and wide-body aircraft."
- Robust economic growth is expected in Asia Pacific, compared with more uncertainty in Europe and North America. In parallel, business travel will be faster to and from APAC than other regions.
- Rail travel will continue to grow as a practical alternative to air travel in Europe. Improved services and extended networks, an increase in integrated rail and air tickets and steps toward "harmonised pan-European planning and ticketing, when combined with a productive on-board working environment and a lighter carbon footprint" are tipped to make rail even more popular among corporate travellers.
- However, companies will face a challenge due to the unstoppable march of smartphones into the pockets and purses of business travellers. "84% of US business travelers use their smart phones during travel and most find practical information through apps and social media. As travel managers embrace traveller services such as mobile itineraries, social communications, location-based information and on-the-go alerts, they may also need to clarify appropriate usage in travel policy."
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
14 Dec 2011
Total posts 2
This would have been a much better post if the infographic had been larger or if there had been a way to enlarge the size to make the text readable. I would have shared the post on several platforms but decided not to because there there is no way to read all the text. Infographics that aren't ledgible are basically worthless. :(
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2563
Hi Karen – I can read the text without any problem. (I can see that it could be a bit clearer, however this appears to be a limitation of the software on our site: the image uploaded for the article was a very high-res version.)
14 Dec 2011
Total posts 2
That's strange. I can read the sub-headings, but can't read what the other text. My pc is fairly new and I have my glasses on. :) So, I don't know what the problem is. Thanks for responding!
03 Jan 2011
Total posts 665
Hi Karen -- I've added a direct link to the image underneath it. Do let us know if that works better for you! :)
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