Corporate confidence is growing when it comes to business travel with more hectic travel schedules expected in 2013, according to a new survey by Travelscene Corporate.
General manager David Padman revealed that an "overwhelming majority" of respondents had predicted their business travel schedules will increase in 2013 compared with last year, while 20% said there would be no change, and 19% expected a decrease.
"Sentiment is high and this is a promising start for 2013 for the corporate travel industry and travel management companies," he said.
"We're expecting business travel buying to become increasingly strategic this year, with a stronger focus on mobility, procurement and increased use of technologies."
Padman stressed the importance of being connected "24/7" as technological advances change the business travel landscape.
"We'll certainly be exploring new opportunities for businesses to bring added value to their travellers via new services and technologies," he said.
Meanwhile, another survey discovered that almost half of respondents did not have a corporate travel policy in place, while 30% said they reviewed their policy once every two years and 23% said they reviewed it one to two times per year.
Controlling company spend was identified as the key reason for having a company travel policy by 49% of respondents, followed by safety and security for travellers with 32%.
"In 2012 we saw a clear trend in businesses looking to be more productive, and the results of the surveys further supports these findings," Padman said.
"It is important that businesses take into account the new options available and review thir corporate travel policies to ensure work is balanced across the board."
