THE last 18 months of world economic turbulence have led to just about every sector being forced to re-evaluate business processes – and the business travel sector is no exception. However, as with every significant change in business process, these changes offer a wealth of opportunity to both supplier and buyer.
So, what does that mean to the business traveller, your corporation’s bottom line and the industry?
Well firstly, and perhaps most importantly, it means opportunity facilitated by healthy competition is back. Aviation and hospitality providers are clambering over each other to give you what you want as they try to secure new business. The result? The chance for buyers to secure the best possible service for the best possible price.
Whether you or your corporation are seeking preferential upgrades, access to airline lounges, meet and assist ground services, ground transportation or as much schedule flexibility as possible, all the industry suppliers will be looking to win you over. From hotels to airlines, business travel is becoming all about the traveller and their personal and professional needs.
The Middle East has traditionally been fraught with the challenges of ‘Jack’ – that notorious ‘man of all trades’ – and subsequently specialisation has been lacking. Not anymore. These ‘Jacks’ now have and use industry-specific knowledge and know-how on what makes best practice in business travel.
International suppliers such as Carlson Wagonlit Travel, HRG and FCM, to name but a few, are collaborating with regional providers to ensure global expertise and specialisation are delivered into the region.
The advent of the World Travel Awards organisation conducting a local and regional survey is a strong indicator that clear criteria are now being set for the region and this can only mean benefits for corporate travel.
The involuntary hiatus that befell all of us is lifting as are travel bans, which naturally provides a welcome boost to the Middle East’s aviation and hospitality sectors with business travellers typically being the biggest spenders.
When MEED published its latest survey on corporate travel in April, results showed almost 22 per cent of respondents said business travel spending will remain at the 2009 levels, while 38 per cent said travel allocations will be more than 10 per cent higher for 2010. YouGovSiraj further reiterated this positive trend with 46 per cent of respondents expecting their business travel to increase.
These facts support the growing importance and magnitude of the business travel sector. And it is here that all forms of the media supporting this sector have such a significant role as they provide the forum whereby suppliers can present their response to the turbulence of the past 18 months, face to face with travel buyers, bookers and managers.
As such, the Business Travel Show Middle East (BTSME) 2010 is ideally positioned to meet this demand. BTSME is the only specialised event for managers who organise, arrange and buy travel on behalf of their organisation, and takes place this October. Here the leading travel suppliers will be showcasing their latest products and services alongside a two-day ‘free to attend’ education conference which will draw on the recent experiences of buyers and suppliers. Add in the range of networking events, which will facilitate new contacts and sharing of best-practice, and BTSME should offer an unrivalled opportunity to find the best ways to take advantage of the opportunities presented as a response to our new economic conditions.
The show takes place on October 25 and 26 at the Madinat Arena in Dubai.
By Paul Grinnall, event director