The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) predicts an increase in U.S. business travel next year, according to its 2010 Buyers’ Cost Forecast.
NBTA estimates the cost of airfare, hotel rooms and car rentals will all drop between 1 percent and 8 percent in 2010. It also cautions that ancillary airline fees could raise the price of a ticket by 30 percent or more.
Travel and meetings buyers can also expect to see an easing of travel and meeting reductions in 2010. Compared to the previous year, the percentage of travel managers expecting to see cuts has gone down in the following areas: number of meetings (down 27 percent), non-essential travel and conference (down 20 percent) and event attendance (down 15 percent). In the new business travel environment, corporate travel managers expect to drive good values with preferred travel suppliers, with 70 percent of buyers expecting to negotiate better hotel discounts for 2010. More than 30 percent forecast better discounts with airlines and car rental companies.
The full report is available to NBTA members at www.nbta.org.
