REPORT: What Business Travelers Want and Where They're Going
Business Travel Patrick Clarke January 26, 2017
Business travelers want more from their work trips, according to new research commissioned by Booking.com for Business.
In fact, 30 percent of road warriors are willing to take a lower-paying job if it means they get to travel more, the research shows.
Nearly half of business travelers (49 percent) say they have extended their work trip to a different city or country in the past year, with 27 percent of those travelers indicating that they intend to do the same this year. What's more, more than four in 10 (46 percent) surveyed business travelers feel they will travel more for business in 2017 than they did in 2016.
"No longer seen as lost time or a career inconvenience, business travel is increasingly seen as an opportunity to expand horizons, find inspiration and progress in a career," said Booking.com for Business' director of product development Ripsy Bandourian in a statement. "Today’s laptop and latte breed of employee is increasingly mobile and fluid with their travel plans, looking to strike a balance between business and leisure travel—bleisure."
When it comes to the fastest growing destinations for business travel, Asia reigns supreme, boasting the top four cities based on business travel booking growth over the past 12 months. Shanghai leads the way, followed by Tokyo, Bangkok and Guangzhou.
New York is the lone U.S. destination on the list at No. 5, followed by Budapest, Singapore, Hong Kong, Prague and Amsterdam.
Interestingly, two of the top seven fastest-growing business travel destinations are also two of the most convenient when it comes to cutting down on transit time between airport and hotel. According to Booking.com for Business's data, Singapore Changi Airport boasts the fastest transit time from aircraft to city center accommodations at just 46 minutes on average.
READ MORE: Why Travel Is So Important to Today’s Workforce
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport isn't far behind, ranking third at an average of 54 minutes.
Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport, Madrid Barajas Airport and Berlin Tegel Airport also made the top five with average transit times ranging from 47 minutes to 58 minutes.
Faster transit times means more time to experience a destination, something a majority of road warriors strive to do, with 62 percent indicating they want to do as many activities as possible when visiting a new location.
When booking a business trip, roughly one-quarter of travelers wait until the last minute, with 23 percent booking a domestic trip within a week of departure and 24 percent booking international trips within four weeks of departure.
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