CWT Business Travel Market Trends in 2012

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) – a global leader specialized in business travel and meetings and events management – recently issued the first in a 3 part series called CWT Perspectives, called the 2012 Travel Price Forecast that projects changes in global supplier prices for airlines, hotels, ground transportation providers, and meetings and events (M&E). CWT’s analysis projected that prices in most geographic areas and for most categories of travel spending are expected to rise in 2012, with substantial increases in Asia and Latin America.

Now, CWT has released the second piece in the series, Business Travel Market Trends in 2012, an infographic capturing the main landmarks for 2012 in terms of supplier offerings, pricing, negotiations and more. Some of the highlights include:

• A mixed outlook for air travel: Both capacity and competition are expected to increase significantly on international routes, especially in Asia Pacific, with the entry of new low-cost carriers and the usage of wide-body aircraft. Less choice is likely on domestic routes, however, particularly in the United States.

• GDP and travel going East: In line with expectations of robust economic growth in Asia Pacific, business travel to and from APAC is also expected to grow faster than any other region – a growth of 13.4% is expected in business travel between APAC and the Middle East, 6.1% between APAC and North America and 4.8% between APAC and Europe. Furthermore, business travel spending in China and India is expected to increase by 13% and 14% respectively.

• More strategic Meeting & Events management: More companies will introduce a strategic meetings management program and dedicated technology in 2012. Hybrid events combining physically present and remote attendees will also be more common.

• Value in mobile and social apps: With an increasing number of business travellers and travel managers embracing technology such as mobile itineraries, location-based information and on-the-go alerts, companies might find the need to start clarifying the appropriate usage of technology in their travel policies.