Business Travel - It's a trade off

Seems like everyone is staying closer to home. In fact fewer Americans traveled for either business or pleasure, and they made trade-offs. I think we are all tightening our belts and watching our dollars.

Findings from The PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey Tenth Edition highlight the trade-off trends:

Vacations continued to outpace shorter, long weekend jaunts this year, and more travelers were attracted to the convenience and savings afforded by purchasing combination travel and packages. Many of these consumers used Web-based traveler information, such as online video and podcasts, and metasearch tools to limit the number of Web sites they visited.

In times of economic uncertainty, long weekend travel is increasingly dominated by the infrequent traveler, who uses these short getaways as respites when a vacation is not possible. This proves particularly true when the proportion of self-employed workers increased (as it did in 2007), as these individuals have more limited time and fewer prescribed opportunities for leisure travel. Infrequent travelers account for an increasing share of business trips taken—now at 59%—as corporations become more rigorous about limiting the number of traveling employees and unnecessary trips.

The PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey annual survey highlights a series of key online buying and shopping metrics. The report's table of contents, list of tables and methodology are available online. PhoCusWright's Global Edition subscribers may access the report at www.phocuswright.com.

I guess if I must go somewhere for business I need to work harder to extend or at the very least enjoy the new cities surroundings. All part of my goal for 2010.