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Business Travel Spending Continues to Grow in China

中国经济步入新常态,商务旅行开支持续增长

The 2015 China Business Travel Survey by CITS American Express Global Business Travel indicates an increase of results-driven business travel spending and a further reliance on technology.

Nov. 25th 2015, CITS American Express Global Business Travel announced the results of its 2015 China Business Travel Survey (The Barometer) during the eleventh annual China Business Travel Forum (CBTF), held in Shanghai.

Despite a continued slowdown of economic growth in China, company executives have indicated that their travel and entertainment (T&E) budgets have grown year-on-year by 4.79%, more than the 3.1% that had been anticipated in the 2014 survey.

Forty-five percent of the surveyed organizations reported keeping their T&E budget stable year-on-year; however, 43% have reported an expansion, which is an increase from 34% in 2014. Conversely, twelve percent of companies have reported a reduction in their T&E budget, a decrease from the 17% reported a year ago.

“Our research indicates companies are increasing their annual T&E budgets, despite the challenging economic environment in China. Business leaders recognize the importance of travel as a contributor to revenue growth. As conditions get tougher, they seem to be sharpening their focus on driving top-line growth and making more efficient and effective usage of their business travel budgets” said Marco Pellizzer, Vice President of American Express Global Business Travel, Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Stronger alignment between business travel and organizational objectives
According to the Barometer, 49% of companies see travel as ‘investment’ rather than a ‘necessary cost’, which is an increase of 11% compared with two years ago. Further, 74% of the interviewed companies report aligning their travel procurement decisions to their sales and project pipelines.

The distribution of the spending between domestic and international travel remains basically unchanged, however there was a six percent increase in ‘international-only trips’ year-on-year. The increase in international travel has been a gradual but noticeable trend over the past few years, and is most likely due to the increasingly international outlook and expansion of Chinese companies.

Further, it appears as though companies believe meetings, incentives, conferences and event (MICE) activities also remain important in driving business development. The number of MICE activities that companies carried out during the last year has increased: 32% of companies have carried out three or more MICE activities over the last 12 months, up from the 17% and 19% reported over the last two years respectively. This implies a slow but steady return of the MICE industry after the economic slowdown of the past few years that inevitably affected MICE activity.

From many to one
The practice of using multiple travel management companies (TMCs) or agencies has softened this year. Forty percent of companies interviewed are using one primary agency, which is a substantial increase from the 18% reported a year ago.

“There is a continued desire amongst local and multinational companies based in China to simplify the operational aspects of their travel management programs, in recognition of the benefits that economies-of-scale can bring, and the disadvantages of resource duplication,” that said Mr. Pellizzer.

When it comes to expectations of TMCs, the top three priorities are: savings (73%); best practices (60%); and, reporting and insights (40%). Senior management appear to be more involved and increasingly interested in reviewing travel programs with 43% of top management reporting that they review travel program data at least once per month, up from the 32% reported two years ago.

Technology on the rise
With 89% of companies reporting the use of online tools, the practice continues to be prevalent. However, fewer than half (42%) use specialized corporate tools, with the majority still relying on generic online travel agency websites. An opportunity exists to create more widespread efficiencies in processes with the adoption of corporate online tools, which are specifically designed for use in business travel.

Further opportunities exist in encouraging the widespread and more frequent usage of online tools, with 30% of travelers still making fewer than 50% of their bookings online. Similar to last year, the two main reasons travelers cite for using online solutions are ‘cost savings’ and ‘ease of use’.

Mobile applications continue to gain popularity and have become an essential tool in the hands of modern business travelers. This year, 57% percent of companies reported that a critically important factor in selecting a travel agency is the availability of a mobility application to support their travelers.

Mr. Pellizzer concluded, “The inbound influence and outbound impact of China’s economy within the rest of Asia is apparent, and it is increasingly clear that China no longer operates simply within its geographical boundaries. Business leaders in China continue to recognize the importance of travel when it comes to their organizational growth, but are seeking to maximize their spending by adopting technology tools to make their travel programs more efficient. They are also becoming more involved in reviewing their overall travel program to understand the return on investment. Companies are working closer than ever with travel management companies to obtain specialist advice and tools to help realize travel program efficiencies”.

The Barometer is an annual report detailing the current status of, as well as forecasts for, the China business travel market. The 2015 Barometer surveyed executives from 188 companies in China ranging from small enterprises with fewer than 100 employees to large companies with well above 500 staff. The organizations are located in major economic areas in China, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Wuhan. The top industries represented within the survey respondents were manufacturing, technology, financial services and pharmaceutical.

根据国旅运通商务旅行发布的2015中国商旅晴雨表显示,以促进业务发展为导向的商旅开支持续增长,科技手段将在未来扮演重要角色。

国旅运通商务旅行(Global Business Travel)于在上海举行的第十一届中国商务旅行论坛(CBTF)中发布了2015年度中国商旅调查(晴雨表)结果。

尽管中国经济增长放缓情况持续,公司高管们仍表示他们的差旅(T&E)预算与去年相比同比增长4.79%,超过2014年调查所预期的3.1%。

调查中有45%的公司表示他们的差旅预算与往年相比基本保持一致。有43%的公司表示这部分预算相对于2014年有了34%的增长。相反,有12%的公司表示他们的差旅预算有所削减,相比前一年减少了17%。

美国运通全球商务旅行中国及香港区副总裁Macro Prllizzer先生表示 : “我们的调查发现,尽管现在中国的经济形势相对严峻,各公司仍正在持续增加他们的年度差旅开支。商务人士意识到差旅对于业务增长方面所起到的重要作用。随着经济形势的变化,他们会更加重视实现顶线增长,提高差旅预算的使用效率。”

商务旅行和企业发展目标更紧密的联合

据晴雨表显示,有49%的企业将差旅视为一种“投资”而非“必要的开支”,相对于去年,这样的企业数量增加了11%。另外,有74%受采访的企业表示差旅采购会结合公司的销售以及项目规划来决议。

调查还显示国内外差旅开支分配基本不变,但纯境外商务旅行的开支较去年同比增长6%。由于中国公司日渐开阔的国际视野以及海外扩张的持续进行,纯境外商务旅行次数在近几年内都有较为明显的增长。

受调查公司认为,一般会议、奖励性旅游、大型企业会议以及活动展览(MICE)仍然在公司业务发展中起到重要作用。去年,公司开展会展活动的数量总体有所增加:32%的公司在过去12个月开展了三个或以上的会展活动,相对于前年的17%和去年的19%都有所增长。这也意味着尽管过去几年经济放缓不可避免地影响了会展活动,但是会展行业还是保持缓慢且稳定的回升趋势。

从多到一

调查还显示,今年各公司使用多个差旅管理公司或代理公司频次有所减少。40%的受访公司表示他们只使用一家主要的代理公司,与去年的18%相比,这个数据增长幅度较大。

Pellizzer先生表示:“中国本土及立足中国的跨国公司都越来越希望简化差旅管理项目的运行情况,他们认可规模经济的好处并清楚地认识到重复资源的缺陷”。

调查还显示,各公司对差旅管理代理公司的期望主要有以下三点:节省开支(73%)、最佳解决方案(60%)以及研究报告和洞见(40%)。高层管理者们也更积极地参与差旅项目的回顾评估。据43%的高层管理称,他们每月至少参与回顾评估一次,这个数据相较于两年前的32%也有显著增加。

科技手段进一步扮演重要角色

调查显示约89%的公司均使用在线工具管理商务旅行,这种行为也正在变得更加普遍。但是,只有半数以下的公司(42%)使用专门的企业公务工具,大多数的公司仍依赖于一般的旅行社网站。因此,研发更多为商务旅行定制的企业公务工具将是一个前景乐观的商业契机。

此外,鼓励商务旅行者更广泛和频繁地使用在线工具不失为另一个机会。30%的旅行者表示他们只有半数以下的预定在网上进行。调查显示,跟去年相似,商务旅行者使用在线工具的两大主要原因为:节省开支和使用便捷。

与此同时,手机应用持续受到人们的欢迎,它已然成为现代商务旅行者们的一个重要的工具。今年,57%的公司表示在他们在选择旅行社时,一个最重要的因素是考虑旅行社是否能给旅行者提供手机应用支持。

Pellizzer先生总结道:“来自于境内境外的因素对于中国经济以及其他亚洲各国的影响是显而易见的。我们越来越清楚地看到,中国已不再受地理界线的约束,中国的商业领袖们越来越认可差旅对公司发展的重要性。他们希望增加相关开支,同时采用科技手段使得旅行项目更加高效。此外,他们也更多地加参与到评估回顾整体旅行项目的活动,了解投资回报。公司与差旅管理代理公司的关系也越来越密切,他们通过寻求专家意见和专业工具来实现差旅项目更大的效能。

《中国商旅晴雨表》是一份统计中国商旅市场现状和预测未来发展趋势的年度报告。2015年该报告共调查了中国188名企业高管。他们分别来自从100人以下的小公司到500人以上的大企业不等。

这些企业分布在中国的主要经济区域,例如上海,北京,广州,深圳以及武汉。受调查的企业大多分布于制造业,科技业,金融服务业以及制药行业。

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