One third of business travel buyers expect their
roles to soon be merged with meetings and events management, according to a new
survey.
The survey of Business Travel Show Europe buyers
revealed that 32 per cent of respondents think that they will soon be made
responsible for meetings and events.
In signs that the integration between business
travel and meetings is picking up pace, 9 per cent said that they have had
responsibility for meetings added to their roles in the last year, and 12 per cent
said it had
been added more than 12 months ago but after they took the job.
For
35 per cent of respondents, responsibility for meetings has always been part of
their role. Just 13 per cent of business travel buyers said they had never had
responsibility for meetings and couldn’t see it happening.
When
it came to the benefits of integrating business travel and meetings, cost
savings came out top with 63 per cent, followed by efficiencies on 47 per cent
and greater visibility and control on 41 per cent.
Improved
compliance was a benefit for 20 per cent of respondents, while enhanced
employee experiences was a factor for just 15 per cent.
The
survey had 131 respondents, with 44 per cent from the UK, 43 per cent from the
rest of Europe and 13 per cent from the rest of the world.
The Business Travel Show Europe is co-located with The Meetings Show at London ExCeL on 19-20 June 2024.
