According to the current AirPlus International Travel Management Study, important trends and scenarios are emerging that will shape the future jobs of travel managers.

1500 travel managers from Europe, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa as well as China, Singapore and Australia were interviewed for the study. In general, they expect a clear expansion of their tasks in the areas of procurement, advertised bidding and climate protection. Over half of those surveyed believe that their responsibilities will come to include yet other areas; another 20% assume that this will be at least partially the case. In addition, two out of three travel managers expect that they will also assume the role of event manager.

Financing and controlling will continue to be among the most important travel management tasks. Over 80% of those questioned expect that their travel budgets will increasingly be examined based on a branch-by-branch or international level. At least as many (67%) expect a distinct or at least partial (16%) increase in the significance of financing. This is hardly surprising given the fact that almost 60% of all travel managers must adapt to expectations that their companies will be confronted with rising expenses for business travel in the future. Only every tenth of those questioned believes that costs will decrease. Climbing expenses will probably most clearly affect companies in South Africa, the Asia-Pacific area and the USA. 70 to 80% of travel managers in these countries expect rising budgets.

Flights are considered to be the primary ‘price boosters’. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed expect prices to rise (some even expect sharp rises). Another third assumes that expenses for flights will gradually settle down at current levels. Those questioned consider price booster number two to be hotels. Over half expect rising prices in this area, 40% expect them to remain the same and only 6% think prices will drop. In the expense segment ‘meetings and conventions’ and rental automobiles, some 30% of those surveyed anticipate their costs to rise in coming years.

Due to additional burdens on their budgets and added responsibilities, travel managers are also worried about the negative effects on their jobs. Even today, over 40% of travel managers feel clear pressure when they plan business travel; 60% can only devote a quarter of their work time to their actual responsibilities due to their additional tasks.

Read also: “The role of travel managers: All that glitters is not gold”.

A rough generalization would be: “Things will remain the same – travel costs will continue to climb in 2009″. Around 60% of travel managers expect a rise in costs, above all in the particularly cost-intensive areas of flight and overnight stays. Only one in fifteen thinks that a dip in costs is likely. Travel managers are more optimistic when it comes to costs of things like rental cars, train trips and the area of business meetings and communication, however. Around a third of those surveyed expected a rise in these prices. Half of them assume that prices will remain flat.

These figures are the result of a survey of 1,500 travel managers in the USA, Mexico and Brazil, South Africa as well as China, Singapore and Australia about expected travel costs as part of the latest AirPlus International Travel Management Study.

There are large regional differences when it comes to the expected rise in costs: between 70% and 80% of companies in the Asia-Pacific region and South Africa assume that business trip expenses will rise. For European companies it is only 40%.