Corporate Travel Encyclopedia

For those looking for a brief overview of business travel in the United States, The Travel Team, Inc. brings this corporate travel encyclopedia with information on the trends, projections and policies regarding the sector.

As U.S. enterprises establish and expand ties with businesses around the globe, corporate travel is increasing in volume every year. Corporate travel – both domestic and international - already accounts for close to 50 percent of the total travel volume in the United States.

Travel research firms have optimistic projections for the corporate travel market in the U.S. PhoCusWright estimates that corporate travel will account for $104 billion - which is 46 percent of the total $225 billion travel market in the United States – in 2005. Of this, the online travel segment will account for $30 billion, predicts PhoCusWright. Others too feel the online travel industry has a bright future. JupiterResearch estimates that by 2009, a third of all travel bookings in the U.S. – business and leisure – will be made online and raise $91 billion.

Being the world’s largest economy, the U.S. has a strong business presence in every continent. The new trend among corporations in the U.S. service industry is to outsource their back-office operations to developing nations because of the substantial lowering of costs and easy availability of skilled human resource. This has necessitated frequent corporate travel overseas, especially to Asia.

An emerging trend in business travel is the migration of corporate travel bookings online. Travel and entertainment is the second largest drain on a company’s resources after salaries, which is why most corporations are looking to contain the rising cost of corporate travel. Online bookings save corporations money because travel suppliers – airlines, hotels, corporate travel management firms – can offer cheaper fares/tariffs and charge lower commissions as their overheads are much lower.

The rising volume of corporate travel brings with it concerns of safety. Since the shocking 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001, corporate travel strategies have begun to include security issues. To ensure that their business trips overseas are safe, American corporate travelers are advised to arm themselves with as much information as they can about their destination ahead of the visits. The U.S. Department of State recommends that those traveling abroad on work check consular information on their destination and find out if there are any travel warnings about the area. Many countries are politically volatile or are considered areas where terrorists are more likely to strike at Americans. The Centers of Disease Control can help you find out if there is any public health risk at your destination. Some basic precautions like carrying photocopies of important documents, using traveler’s checks instead of cash and keeping a low profile go a long way in ensuring safety from crime.

If you need more information on corporate travel, visit www.thetravelteam.com. We at the Travel Team specialize in getting the cheapest possible fares/tariffs for our corporate clients, but without any compromise on the quality of service.

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