Survey: Business travelers plan to spend more time on the road in 2012
December 7, 2011
Business travel projections look good for 2012, according to a recent Deloitte survey. The results of the survey show that 85 percent of business travelers are planning to spend as much, if not more, time on the road as they did in 2011. More respondents under the age of 45 said that they expect to travel more next year (27 percent) than those over the age of 45 (16 percent), which suggests that hotels and other travel industry businesses will need to put an emphasis on catering to a younger group, without forgetting the needs of older clientele.
"Corporate travel plays a key role in driving growth for the travel industry as a whole," said Adam Weissenberg, the vice chairman of Deloitte and the sector leader for travel, hospitality and leisure. "While it's important for hotels to focus on the burgeoning number of young business travelers, finding a middle ground to retain brand loyalty among Generation X and Y, and boosting brand loyalty among the potentially more discerning baby boomers, will likely be a challenge for hotels in 2012."
Regardless of age, business travelers may get homesick when they're out of town. If they bring along a long distance calling card, they'll be able to stay in touch with their loved ones.