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The Business Travel Environment. BTEC National Travel and Tourism. Introduction. This session forms an introduction to Unit 8, Business Travel Operations. This unit aims to ensure that learners have a good understanding of the importance of the business travel sector.
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The Business Travel Environment BTEC National Travel and Tourism
Introduction • This session forms an introduction to Unit 8, Business Travel Operations. • This unit aims to ensure that learners have a good understanding of the importance of the business travel sector. • The session aims to help you examine the business travel environment.
Business Travel & Tourism • Business travel is a growing element of the overall travel and tourism industry. • It is thought to be worth more than £16 billion annually. • In 2001, spending by business visitors exceeded that of leisure visitors. • Business travel and tourism includes a wide range of events and services.
Business Travel Characteristics • High quality, high yield (earns more revenue) part of travel and tourism. • Lengthens the high season for leisure tourism destinations in UK. • Year-round sector means more full-time jobs. • More ‘shock-proofed’ against downturns or disasters. • Investment can regenerate urban areas.
The Components of Business Travel Conferences and meetings are worth over £7 billion in 2003. This part of the sector includes: • sales conferences • management meetings • annual general meetings • training courses • business presentations and product launches
The Components of Business Travel • The market for exhibitions and trade fairs is worth over £2 billion per year. • Trade exhibitions are for buyers and sellers in specific trade sectors. • Public exhibitions attract paying members of the public. • Trade/public exhibitions aim to attract both types of visitor.
The Components of Business Travel • Incentive travel is used by organisations to motivate their staff. • Travel rewards cost between £500 and £5,000 per head. • They are usually offered in industries with high profit margins such as cars and financial services. • Qualification for incentive travel is based on achieving agreed goals (usually sales targets).
The Components of Business Travel • Corporate events include staff and client entertainment. • Sporting occasions are the most popular for corporate events. • Close links exist between corporate events segment and the contract catering industry. • Market worth between £700 million and £1 billion per year.
The Components of Business Travel • The outdoor events segment brings together local authorities, show organisers, event management firms, promoters and venues owners. With… • Equipment and services firms, consultants, and entertainment agencies. • Putting on thousands of events across the country every year.
The Components of Business Travel • These first 5 segments of the industry are known as examples of ‘discretionary’ business tourism. • This means that the organisers have a choice over the destination of their events. • Corporate travel is a ‘non-discretionary’ segment. • This means there is no choice over where it takes place.
The Components of Business Travel • Corporate travel is a £6 billion annual market. • Overlap with all other segments of the business travel and tourism industry. • May involve travel by air, rail, coach, car and sea. • Can lead to individual and family travel beyond the business segment.
Business Travel Agencies Business travel agencies share many characteristics with retail travel agencies: • They can be trans-national businesses, national organisations and independent companies. • They may offer a mix of business and leisure travel services. • They have been affected by the rise of internet tourism distribution.
Issues in Business Travel Again, many of these are the same as those faced by retail travel agencies: • Cuts in commission paid to travel agents. • Non-commission fees for travel agents. • The rise of the low-cost airlines. • Direct sales to customers via the internet.
Conclusion • Business travel is a highly valuable part of the travel and tourism industry. • Not only does it continue to grow, but average spending by business travel customers is higher than in the retail sector. • Venues and cities compete through ‘place marketing’ to appeal to customers in the sector.