GUILD REPORTS ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL' AS PRAGMATIC BRITONS IGNORE THE WAR
Britain's business travellers are taking a pragmatic approach to the war in Iraq, and are actually more worried about SARS – severe acute respiratory syndrome – than about the battles for Basra and Baghdad.
Reports from the influential Guild of Business Travel Agents (GBTA) indicate that, although there was an initial downturn in business trips, cutbacks were nowhere near as severe as had been feared.
And as the coalition forces have gained the upper hand, corporate travel has already started to pick up.
“Although there has been a significant drop in travel to the Middle East, most business trips are going ahead as normal,” says GBTA chief executive Phillip Carlisle. “British business travellers – and their employers – seem to be taking the view that commercial life must go on.”
A poll of the GBTA's 35 member companies – who between them account for more than 80 per cent of all British business travel – shows that while 75 per cent experienced a small drop in bookings, there are already clear signs of recovery.
More than 80 per cent of respondents expect a full return to “business as usual” once hostilities cease.
While most companies are keeping careful tabs on when and where their employees travel, very few have cancelled trips. Travel within the UK and Europe has been largely unaffected.
“There is some sketchy evidence that travellers are switching to non-US airlines, but other than that British business has refused to panic,” says Carlisle. “In fact, there is more concern about SARS – with 12 per cent of our members reporting cancellations because of the superbug – than about the war.”
For more information: Vanessa Aves/Steve Dunne, Brighter PR, tel: 020 7603 2168, email: Vanessa.aves@brighterpr.co.uk