Several trade wars and rising travel pricing will likely inhibit global business travel from growing rapidly, as was seen over the last few years. Self-defeating as it may seem, the global business and corporate travel has seen it all.
Business travel has been through remarkable growth in recent times fuelled by developing markets, though it has had a modest growth in Europe and North America. In the coming years, though, a number of factors can stun growth, as per a new forecast by Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The cost of travellers in Asia will be augmented by lack of hotel supply, while both traveller and consumer spending in Europe will likely be compounded by the dubitancy surrounding Brexit. This decline will be exacerbated by a significant fall in growth for Western Europe, North America and Japan.
Add to these the nascent trade war between America and its trading partners, especially European Union and China. The steep drop in the US dollar value is another factor contributing to the escalating business travel costs in the US.
The increasing number of protectionist policies in place and stoking trade wars, according to the report, has added to the overall costs. International trade has eventually got back to near pre-2008 levels, and is a major driving factor of corporate travel; therefore, any policy aimed at espousing protectionism, or obtunding the level of international trade and cooperation can dent the demand for global corporate & business travel.
In Asia¬-Pacific, almost all major country will face unprecedented airfare rise with the exception of Japan; thanks to a steadily rising yen value. There are several issues that affect the global aviation sector such as the rising oil prices and extensive labour issues that will further decelerate the growth of travel industry. Other factors that increase travel cost big time include going for ancillaries to up the revenue. A similar pattern is observed in the global hotel pricing.
As pressure mounts on accommodation service providers, business travel buyers need to come out with a definite game plan to secure accommodations where they prefer at lower rates. This has forced travel buyers to adopt automated tools to ensure that they get lower rates than normal prices.
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