TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

Stable budgets, equivalent lengths of stay, and overall continued appeal, albeit in the face of competition: the study published by the Comité de pilotage des salons et congrès en Ile-de-France (COPIL) is reassuring overall for the French MICE sector.

According to a new study published by Concur, many employees may be frustrated by the way business travel is allocated within the company. Business travel also suffers from discrimination.

On Wednesday, the Lufthansa group announced the sale of AirPlus to a Swedish bank (SEB Kort) for 450 million euros.

The Paris Air Forum European Barometer published by the ADP Group deciphers the general public's view of air travel, particularly in the light of environmental issues.

The IACC association has just unveiled the results of its "Meeting Room of the Future" survey. This is an opportunity to take stock of the expectations of event organisers and their vision of the future of the meetings & events sector.

A growing preference for teleworking and business nomadism: the Actinéo barometer deciphers the major trends in French working practices. A study that shows that the office still has a bright future ahead of it, above all as a place for social interaction.

BCD Travel surveyed business travellers to gain a better understanding of their travel spending practices, and above all to identify the sources of frustration they can generate.

Air France-KLM is to integrate Amadeus' Cytric suite of business travel and expense management solutions into its corporate booking tool.

The Navan Sustainability suite is gaining in consistency with the addition of a new Train Vs Plane feature, designed to promote the rail alternative where it exists.

A new Global Trends Report from FCM Consulting estimates that the recovery in business travel continued in the first quarter. French business travellers favour Germany, the United States and Spain.

The study on MICE Trends in 2022 and Outlook for 2023 published by Coach Omnium and the 1001 Salles Group shows an upturn in activity, driven by a "catch-up" effect. What remains to be done is to monitor the new expectations of companies in order to meet their needs.

The Meeting & Event 2022/2023 barometer published by the German Convention Bureau confirms the return of MICE activity in Germany, which claims to be the leading business travel destination in Europe.

CWT is to combine its TMC role with hotel reservations via Booking.com for Business. In this way, the business travel agency aims to provide greater support to SMEs.

The Chaire Pégase surveyed French travellers to find out more about their perception of green innovations in the airline industry. A great deal of educational work remains to be done.

Navan is turning to artificial intelligence to improve the management and understanding of travel expenses, using its new virtual assistant Ava. For the time being, these functions are reserved for a small number of users as part of a test phase.

Emirates and Etihad have signed an interline agreement offering greater flexibility for travel within the United Arab Emirates. The biggest advantage is arriving in Dubai and departing from Abu Dhabi, or vice versa. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is now betting on a common Schengen-style visa.

Growing hostility to the Airbnb model is forcing the platform to return to its original model of offering travellers a room to rent in a flat.

China has decided to abolish the requirement to present a negative PCR test before entering the country. Only an antigenic test is now required.

A European Commission report entitled "How fast are train journeys between EU cities and is rail faster than air travel?" analyses the speed of trains on a set of 1,356 routes between medium-sized and large EU cities located less than 500 km apart. And draws the conclusion that there is still a long way to go before rail is truly competitive with air travel.

Thibault Janin, Managing Director of Ilios International, talks about the recent fund-raising and the originality of his company's offering, which specialises in travel assistance and security.