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| 21 May 2008 | Sydney | | | Business travelers opt for discount airfares, survey shows | | | One-third of executives find business travel stressful | |
More businesses are sending their executives on discounted and economy airfares as companies look to rein in expenditure on travel and entertainment, according to a survey released by Visa and the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI).
Forty-seven percent of business travelers surveyed opt for the lowest airfare available when booking business trips, the survey found. Another 43 percent travel economy, while only 10 percent fly business class.
“The days of business travel being seen as a reward are long gone – today’s business traveler is likely to be juggling a laptop and a PDA in economy and taking shorter trips,” said Chris Clark, Visa’s General Manager forAustralia, New Zealand and South Pacific.
Mr Clark said while the survey found business confidence had deteriorated over the March quarter, travel was seen as a necessary part of conducting business, with most companies saying they expected to maintain or increase their overall travel expenditure budgets this year.
Half of the businesses surveyed said they expect to maintain the same level of expenditure on travel in 2008 as they did last year, while 22 percent said they expect to spend more.
Nearly one-third of the executives surveyed said business travel was a stressful experience while 69 percent disliked spending time away from home. Only 15 percent said they consider business travel a reward. Seventy-eight percent usually use a business credit card to pay for travel expenses.
Sixty-seven percent of businesses also expect to maintain or increase spending on entertainment and hospitality this year, while 21 percent expect to spend less.
Seventy-two percent of respondents said they considered business entertainment a necessary part of doing business. When taking business clients to a restaurant, 31 percent spend an average of $51 to $75 per person on food and drinks, while 18 percent spend less than $50 per head and only seven percent spend more than $100 per head.
The survey was undertaken among 500 business respondents in Victoria during the March 2008 quarter. Overall, 54 percent of respondents were small businesses, 33 percent were medium sized businesses and 13 percent were large businesses.
Media contact
Andrew Woodward
Visa International
ausinfo@visa.com
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About Visa
Visa operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com. | |
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