A First Class Opportunity to reach the Business Traveller with Economy

Magazine Stories

Firms allowing employees more time to search for web deals

A new survey shows that more companies in the UK are turning to the Internet for travel.

The Visa Europe research found that 52 per cent of businesses questioned said more employees were organising their travel and 48 per cent said that more staff were involved in purchasing travel services than in the past.

Forty four per cent of small firms said staff organised their own business travel, rising to 54 per cent for medium-sized companies and 58 per cent for larger organisations, where traditionally travel arrangements would be made by a personal assistant or through a central resource.

The research also found that larger businesses tended to use the Internet more and were more committed to using budget hotels and airlines.

Overall, 66 per cent of companies said they actively encouraged the use of budget hotels and 54 per cent were asking staff to use low-cost airlines.

The survey also revealed that more than three-quarters of businesses spend more time shopping around for better deals than two years ago, while 70 per cent of large companies believed the online option made it easier for them to shop around and save money in the process.

Online was important or very important for 57 per cent of businesses for the purchase of travel and transport, and 53 per cent said online was important for buying accommodation.

Go back to the main page