A new year means new opportunities, challenges and trends, not least for business travel, says Catherine Logan, regional vice president for EMEA at the Global Business Travel Association, speaking at ITB in Berlin.

In 2019 will see a continued surge of spending on business travel, a result of improving global economies and expanding trade and investment over the past two years, she said. This increase is particularly notable in the Asia-Pacific region, she added.

“Growth in global business travel spending kicked into higher gear into 2017 advancing 5.8 percent over 2016 levels,” she said.

However, she cautioned, due to uncertainties such as Brexit and the US-China trade war, she expects more “moderate” growth in 2019.

Logan also noted that that 79 percent of travelers say that business travel impacts their overall job satisfaction, while in Europe 50 percent consider business travel part of a reason for taking a job in the first place.

And while companies are mindful of that, she said regarding company travel policies, there’s still way to go to make them more flexible for business travelers. She stipulated that technology can help but improvements mean “applying the rules without a heavy hand.”

Photo Caption: Catherine Logan, Regional Vice President for EMEA at GBTA, speaking at the ITB 2019 Convention in Berlin

Logan also stressed the importance of technology and innovation in influencing business travel –using machine learning to analyze travel data and using artificial intelligence to personalize travel experiences.

Companies should take these trends into account to promote travel policy compliance and engage a new generation of business travelers, she said.

“Don’t miss this opportunity of making it a part of your program when the time is right,” she said. “It maybe sooner than you think.”

Photo: Eros Banaj

This is strictly an exclusive feature, reprints of this article in any shape or form without prior written approval from 4Hoteliers.com is not permitted. Jabeen Bhatti is reporting exclusively for 4Hoteliers.com at ITB Berlin 2019 - www.4Hoteliers.com/itb.

Contact us for ITB Asia 2019 and ITB Berlin 2020 marketing opportunities.