14 BUSINESS TRAVEL
travel shows no signs of slowing down
CCORDING to the WTO (World Trade Organisation) around 30 per cent of international trips these days are for business – and its showing no sign of slowing down.
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Even in this modern world of instant communication and social media, business travel is still as necessary and advantageous as ever.
Some of the main reasons for business travel include:
Networking - You can’t beat a handshake and a face-to-face chat for meeting and getting to know someone. Meeting someone face-to- face is much better than Skype calls. Samples - You may need to take examples of your work or see examples of something you’re considering investing in. Explaining something while with someone and actually making sure that they understand is still the best way - it beats important information being lost in email chains.
Be personal - You want to meet suppliers, customers or clients to take them for drinks and a meal and personally give them a gift as
a way of showing yhow much you appreciate their business. You want to show them that they are worth the time that it takes to make a personal visit.
Personal Check-up - It makes better business sense to visit suppliers and check the quality for yourself.
Quality can’t be properly examines through a laptop screen.
Location - Your business may have offi ces in lots of diff erent locations across the world and you may need to travel to one of these offi ces.
Attending meetings and events - You might need to attend a meeting, exhibition or conference that’s relevant to your business.
Closing a deal - Business advisers Oxford Economics discovered through research that potential customers are nearly twice as likely to sign with you if you have a face-to- face meeting so it’s defi nitely worth making the trip.
Incentives - Some business trips are designed to motivate employees, and can involve things such as going on team-building weekends.
Around 30 per cent of international trips these days are for business - according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
Business
July/August 2019 Travel News
A beginners guide to business travel...
SO your boss tells you that you’re off on your fi rst business trip abroad. It’s exciting, of course, but also nerve-wracking, you’ll be representing the company and that’s a lot of responsibility.
The whole experience can be overwhelming, here’s some tips to make sure your fi rst business trip goes smoothly.
Take some time to prepare for the trip well in advance. Be organised and you’ll avoid many rookie mistakes – like staying in ‘slightly’ out-of-town hotels. You need to be right in the centre of things. Make sure you know your company’s travel policy, it’s boring, but you need to know the rules before you head off . Don’t take your company’s travel rules lightly because the travel policy will be the result of years of experience and negotiations with suppliers. Learn about your spending limits for expenses as well as insurance cover. Familiarise yourself with your destination? Every country is diff erent and may have a particular business etiquette that you’ll want to brush up on. In some countries cultural diff erences may lead to amusing misunderstandings, however in others they can have a serious impact on your business relationship.
Don’t forget to check that your passport is up-to-date and valid as some countries might enforce a six- month validity rule.
Make sure you book your hotel early. Use your company’s recommended booking channels - some company’s use specifi c hotels for all their travel as this ensures
the best rates and discounts while other may use an Business Travel specialist to take care of all aspects of the trip.
When it comes to packing your suitcase there are generally three main rules:
* Hand-luggage only * Mix and match pieces for extra outfi ts
* Have toiletries ready in travel- sized package
Make sure you get enough sleep and eat right. Don’t spend the night before a big meeting in the bar and make sure you eat something other than fast food.
One of the major benefi ts of business travel is getting to leave your offi ce — and the colleagues you see every day. Don’t be afraid of reaching out to people and introducing yourself - business travel is a great opportunity to network.
When spending company is coming from the company purse, try and keep your spending to a minimum and don’t buy anything you wouldn’t use your own money for. It’s also a good idea to keep your receipts for expenses.
Although business travel is essentially for work, try and make it as fun as possible. Seize the opportunity to try some news things (if you have the free time). Even just trying out a new cuisine can be exciting.
The the trip is over it’s easy to just get back into the offi ce and pick up where you left off at your desk, but it’s important to brief your colleagues fi rst - share what you learned on your trip with them.
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