Corporate travel expenditures are on pace to finish the year 15 percent below their levels in 2008, according to a study by a Sherman-based market research firm.
Business spending on hotels, airfare, car rentals and other expenses will total $85 billion in the U.S. this year, according to PhoCusWright. By comparison, spending by all travelers in the U.S. is expected to drop 11 percent this year, enough to send it below its level in 2006.
By 2010, leisure travel is expected to make up 65 percent of all U.S. trip spending, up from 61 percent in 2007.
“Sharply curtailed corporate travel budgets will mean not only less travel in 2009, but stricter policies and tougher policing when spending does occur,” said Susan Steinbrink, senior research and corporate market analyst at PhoCusWright, in a prepared statement. “However, the recession will positively affect innovation, as corporations and travel management companies intensify efforts to optimize travel programs. This means bringing more spend under management, accelerating integration efforts across the corporate travel value chain and leveraging new technologies ”“ from mobile to video conferencing ”“ to bolster the bottom line.”
