BUSINESS TRAVEL’S BRIGHT VIEW
Business travel sector will grow by 3.7 per cent per year over the next decade, a report by Travelport and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates.
Released at the WTTC global summit in Bangkok, the report shows that the fastest growth for the business travel sector is expected in the emerging markets, with Asia-Pacific leading the way at a predicted rate of 6.2 per cent each year to 2027.
In Asia, mainland China leads with 9.5 per cent annual growth to 2027, followed by Myanmar at 8.7 per cent, Hong Kong 8 per cent, Cambodia 7.4 per cent and India 7.2 per cent. Rwanda and Gabon, both at 8.5 per cent, are the standouts in Africa, with Tanzania at 7.9 per cent.
The largest business travel markets are the US, China, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.
The report explores the increasing use of technology supporting travellers and travel companies. Travelport research highlights how business travellers want mobile phone alerts and information about disruptions, flight updates and upgrades. It also draws attention to the need to serve digitally connected millennials and for the industry to deploy data-driven insights to engage customers more effectively.
David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC, said travel and tourism generates US$7.6 trillion in GDP and supports 292 million jobs. Business travel is a vital part of the sector, and it is a key catalyst for global growth. It drives the relationships, investments, supply chains and logistics that support international trade flows, he said.
