TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

Expertmarket has published a study on the cost of business travel around the world. This city-by-city ranking, based in particular on BCD Travel data, is dominated by Caracas. The Venezuelan capital is ahead of Geneva and Stockholm, with Paris in 8th place. 

BCD Travel has published its traditional annual top 10 business travel destinations, which show that Paris remains the most popular destination for Benelux business travellers. London, Brussels and Frankfurt occupy the top three places for French business travellers.  

The publication of Egencia's very first "Business and Travel Technology" study highlights the growing trend towards mixing business and leisure travel. Bleisure" now systematically involves 24% of French business travellers: a significantly higher ratio than our German (20%) and British (10%) neighbours.

As the ten nations of ASEAN* (Association of South East Asian Nations) enter the home straight that will lead them at the end of December to form the new AEC (ASEAN Economic Community), the question has been raised for several years as to whether it is necessary to create a common visa, along the lines of the Schengen visa offered to non-EU citizens visiting the old continent.

At the annual Dimo Forum in Lyon, Dimo Gestion made its new identity official: Dimo Software. 

Business travel agency Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) is continuing to expand in the French market, and has just announced the creation of a new entity: Fraedom. As the Destination 2015 strategic plan draws to a close, Rémi Bouysset, HRG's Managing Director for France, provides an update on the TMC's priorities, the next stages in its development, and its medium-term objectives. 

Last week at the Business Travel Show, Egencia announced growth of 21% in the UK market. Christophe Peymirat, Egencia's Senior Vice President for EMEA, takes this opportunity to talk about TMC's positioning in the UK, the agency's priorities and its overall vision of the business travel market. Interview.

HRS has published a study comparing the attitudes of female business travellers and their male counterparts to business travel. It shows that men are more likely than women to refuse a business trip... 

KDS has published a focus on the UK market, examining the importance of automated expense management tools. We learn that handwritten notes have not disappeared, and that Excel is still often the standard format...

On Thursday, on the occasion of the Business Travel Show its first Business and Technology Travel Study. The aim is to explore some of the new trends in business travel by interviewing a thousand business people in the UK, Germany and France. 

The Business Travel Show opens its doors in London on 25 February for two days of events dedicated to the business travel market.

PrivateFly publishes a classification of the most popular routes for private jet hire in Europe and the United States. Le Bourget-Geneva and Los Angeles-Las Vegas would be the most popular routes. 

The French hotel industry had a mixed 2014, according to results presented today by Deloitte In Extenso. The first half of the year in particular was difficult, with a general decline in occupancy. By contrast, mid-range and top-of-the-range hotels returned to more appreciable levels of performance in the second half of the year.

On Thursday, Concur and Anticip formalised a technological partnership aimed at tracking international business trips and guaranteeing their security.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has published its traditional annual "CWT Travel Management Priorities" report, aimed at identifying the major business travel trends for the next twelve months. The security of business travel data and its use for benchmarking purposes are the two key factors to watch out for in 2015, according to CWT. 

PrivateFly has published its top 20 busiest airports for business aviation in 2014, with a special focus on French hubs. Le Bourget and Nice are on the podium.

The new white paper published by Advito, "Sharing Economy: Does it have a place in your managed travel programme?" looks at a topical issue that is reshuffling the cards in business travel and travel management. By comparing the solutions proposed by the two giants of the sharing economy - Airbnb and Uber, not to mention them by name - with the imperatives of business, the BCD Travel subsidiary points out both the potential and the limits of these new alternatives. 

Low-cost air travel in Germany is costing passengers more because of the rise of airlines offering a more upmarket service.

Meetings booking site book2Meet has published a white paper entitled "2015 Buying Meetings As Easy As Buying Travel? The paper, written by Sam Versele, provides an interesting analysis of the situation and attempts to identify the keys to achieving this "new frontier" in travel management.

Torn between their international ambitions and the need to save money, SMEs are finding it relatively easy to reduce the cost of their business travel. Provided they identify the right partners.