Chris McGinnis
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Bryson Forbes
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Corporate Travel in Canada looking robust!
September 5 2012 by Bryson Forbes
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By all accounts it appears that corporate travel in Canada looks as healthy as ever!
In fact, a recent study co-authored by Deloitte and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) has some pretty encouraging stats. Here are just a few:
- 84% of Canadian Business travelers are planning to travel as much or more this year, up 5% from last year, AND
- International travel outside North America is expected to jump dramatically with 62% of corporate jet setters planning to be overseas in the next twelve months - that's up from 47% only a year ago.
Data from the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and the Conference Board of Canada are also showing some impressive feedback. A study they conducted with 54 Canadian companies with travel volumes in excess of one million dollars indicated that 49% expect to be travelling more while 40% claim budgets will remain the same. Leaving only 11% who expect to see a decrease in travel activity in the coming twelve months.
The outlook and confidence of these companies appears to very positive and they are not alone. Tanya Racz, The President of GBTA of Canada and who I have had the pleasure of moderating on our panel at our annual Best Western Business Travel Summits has recently gone on record to say that many member companies are now reporting travel spending that has returned to pre-recession levels and in some industries like energy and petroleum even exceeded 2007 or 2008 volumes. Can we finally state with confidence that we are done we are with the "r" word? I think so!
This is terrific news and is a very solid indication that the economy is Canada is not only back but also ready to grow. Travel, especially corporate travel helps stimulate and inject money into so many industries as travelers get out and sell their Canadian goods and services. Increased travel activity helps local businesses, hotels, restaurants and many other services we sometimes forget about like taxis, parking garages and gas stations. It also creates a lot of jobs and to me, more Canadians working and earning money, stimulates travel and the cycle picks up momentum.
Is this consistent with what you are seeing? If you travel for business, do you feel the same sense of optimism and expect to be back on the road like it's 2008?
We know it is a big world out there with lots of places to see and experience.
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What a lovely blog.. looking forward many such blogs, I work for hotel-le-president.