Business travel is expected to increase in Europe this year, but concerns about costs are growing. Find out what's happening in the European travel market in 2023 and what's most worrying for travel buyers

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A new Cvent survey has shown that two-thirds of European travel buyers expect their companies' revenues to be higher this year than in 2022, which will lead to an increase in business travel. At the same time, service buyers are concerned about rising travel costs. 

What's happening in the European travel market and how companies and tourists are trying to save money on travel is described in the article below.

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What worries European travel buyers: survey results

According to the published data of the survey, which was organized with the participation of event technology specialists Cvent, out of 600 European travel buyers from the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, 80% of respondents gave a positive assessment of their organizations' travel activities this year.

As BTN Europe explained, 64% of them expect more business travel in 2023 than last year, and 19% said the growth will be "significant."

At the same time, the survey showed that the priority of European buyers is to minimize travel costs. Thus, 65% of respondents said that the biggest concern is the rise in travel costs. In the UK and France, this figure is even higher, reaching 73%.

In addition, buyers of travel services in Europe are experiencing inflation for all types of travel services and products, with 30% of respondents concerned about rising prices for ground transportation and believing that costs will become even higher in the most demanding times.

At the same time, 70% of respondents expect their companies to raise the average budget for travel, as this would be a logical step given the overall rise in travel costs and the increase in travel duration.

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How do people in Europe save money on travel?

Buyers of travel services use different tactics to minimize travel costs. The most popular strategy is to combine business trips with other events and meetings where their company employees must attend. This tactic is used by 40% of respondents.

At the same time, 37% of respondents are reducing the number of employees traveling. And despite the fact that the number of travelers has decreased, most respondents are still convinced that the total volume of travel will be higher than in 2022. At the same time, in France, even more travel buyers resort to this tactic - 43%.

22% of respondents noted that they had previously planned to reduce the number of trips for employees, but now business trips, on the contrary, are lasting longer.

In addition, the survey showed that in addition to the cost of accommodation, travel service buyers pay attention to the location of hotels and conference centers relative to the location of the company itself (37%), the availability of loyalty programs and flexible conditions (35%), and accessibility to the location (26%). At the same time, consumers of travel services are concerned about the environmental friendliness of hotels and facilities. Thus, 26% of respondents said that "increased emphasis" on eco-travel would be their priority for the next two years. And 29% of respondents said they would actively monitor everything related to environmental issues when looking for hotels and facilities.

Commenting on the survey results, Graham Pope, vice president of international sales at Cvent, noted that corporate travel managers are trying to establish cooperation with hotels and facilities in order to save money for travel buyers.

"After a significant return of leisure and MICE travel, corporate travel managers are eager to get their teams back to work, but they want to work with hotels that understand their needs and can be more flexible given their budget constraints," Graham Pope said in a commentary.

We remind you! Despite the full-scale invasion of russia, foreign tourists continue to travel to Ukraine. We talked to foreigners who visited Ukraine during the war and found out what motivates them to travel to Ukraine in wartime, which cities they choose, and what they remember and are most impressed by. Read the answers to all these questions in the interview here.

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