BUSINESS TRAVEL SHOW
After polling 7,400 people across
Europe, almost half (48 per cent) of business travellers said they would consider not travelling abroad for work if it took them to a location they considered unsafe, based on their own perception or official government travel guidance. There was also a reluctance to travel to unsafe countries from British travellers, with 23 per cent revealing they were involved in or close to a critical incident while away for work in the last year. Speaking to BBT at the show, Emma Maslen, managing director of UK enterprise, SAP Concur, said: “I was surprised by perceptions of risky countries, for example, France, where 35 per cent of French travellers were involved in an incident. And there’s a periphery of things you don’t often think about, even how to get medication to a traveller if they’re diabetic. It doesn’t make the headlines, but it has to be dealt with.” Across Europe, an average of 18
per cent of those surveyed said they were close to or involved in what they deemed a “risky” situation – including
flooding, epidemic, riot, earthquake or terrorist attack – in the last year.
STANDING OUT
Many exhibitors announced new tools, tie-ups and partnerships at the show.
Amadeus unveiled a new partnership to integrate Barclaycard’s virtual cards offering Precisionpay into its B2B Wallet payment solution. The Precisionpay virtual card technology allows businesses to generate a single-use digital card number that is linked to a specific purchase. Barclaycard says this means transactions can automatically be reconciled, saving time and effort for the company’s finance team. Bart Tompkins, managing director of payments at Amadeus, told BBT the partnership with Barclaycard “made sense” because both companies have a technology-focused approach. “Payments is not a one-size-fits-all business. That’s why we developed the B2B Wallet concept, which gives travel agencies access to a range of different payment options in a single link.” TMC Fello revealed a partnership
THE SHOW SURPASSED EXPECTATIONS ON BOTH DAYS. ON THE BACK OF THE BRAND REFRESH, PEOPLE ARE RECOGNISING US FOR TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
with SalesTrip as its outsourced provider of complimentary managed travel services for the platform’s customers. It also announced a new partnership with GlobalStar Travel Management, giving it the ability to offer clients a worldwide service. Capita Travel and Events also exhibited at the show, promoting its Smarter Working proposition, which merges behavioural science with technology. Jonti Dalal-Small, head of behavioural science, appeared in a masterclass called “Does traveller incentivisation really lower spend and help your business?”. Meanwhile, Selective Travel Management unveiled its rebrand. Managing director Keith Graham told BBT: “The show surpassed expectations on both days. On the back of the brand refresh, people are recognising us for travel management, with our strapline ‘business travel simplified’.”
RECOGNISING INNOVATION At the show’s Disrupt Awards, judged by a panel of industry journalists, including BBT digital editor Molly Dyson, Taptrip took first place after fending off CultureMee, Railguard, Raketa and SalesTrip. The self-service travel and expenses solution was named as “One to Watch” in the 2019 BBT Hotlist for its potential to disrupt the way SMEs manage their travel programmes. n For more reports from the two-day show, go to
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Taptrip’s Neil Ruth was presented with the Business Travel Disrupt Awards trophy by last year’s winner, Leonard Cremer of TroopTravel (second left). Also pictured are the runners-up
buyingbusinesstravel.com 2019 MARCH/APRIL 89
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