Andrew Grunewald, Flight Centre Business travel brand leader, explains that he foresees that the corporate travel market will continue to grow in South Africa in the year ahead.
He shares his view on the main trends to expect in this space for 2020:
Also, companies will increasingly look for specialised travel managers who know the business inside and out and who can make personalised recommendations that will help grow the company.
Whereas in previous years, clients would often use two or three corporate travel agents and have their travel spend split across different agents, they are now opting to consolidate this spend with just one agent, leveraging off corporate agreements and global buying power. Says Grunewald: “With a more holistic view of the company’s travel spend, it becomes easier to drive savings through consolidated yields and discounts instead of looking at the lowest prices for small personal expenditures.”
In 2020, this role will be further developed, he says. By analysing the budget and using the right data to investigate a company’s travel spend, travel management companies (TMCs) will have a unique opportunity to help companies drive intelligent savings.
The second annual ‘State of Business Travel Survey’ by National Car Rental shows that 90% of millennials have engaged in bleisure travel in the past year compared with 81% of Generation Xers and 80% of baby boomers.
Grunewald comments: “Besides the distinct advantages for the traveller, bleisure travel also has benefits for companies. If the traveller decides to arrive a few days early to explore the destination ahead of their meeting, they will be better rested and be able to make a better impression on the client. Meanwhile, if the business traveller chooses to prolong their stay, they will be incentivised to work more productively and efficiently.”
“It’s an exciting time for SME business travel, and now, more than ever before, the travel industry is equipped to meet the demand for flexibility that entrepreneurs and SME’s need to achieve business success,” he says.
Combined, all these trends reflect one thing, says Grunewald: although the economic climate will continue to be challenging in 2020, it will be an exciting year for the corporate travel space. The travel industry will continue to adapt and innovate to improve the quality of business trips for travellers.
