[ the LOWDOWN ]

Small businesses spending more on travel

FOUR out of ten SMES (40%) will spend more on business travel in 2018 while only 12% expect to spend less than in 2017. Nearly half (48%) expect travel spend to remain static.

The research, carried out by Business Travel Show, showed half of SMES (49%) claim they will spend more on both air travel and accommodation in 2018.

Nearly half of survey respondents (47%) expect travel costs to rise in the year head, with only 13% expecting airfares and hotel rates to fall.

Only 15% of travel managers said they expect to manage fewer trips in the year ahead, compared to 37% who thought this heading into 2017, with the sharp decline in pessimism suggesting that concerns around geopolitical events such as Brexit have quickly dissipated.