Canadian Alliance 2007 Business Travel Forecast
	Business Travel Growth will Level Off Slightly, Remain Strong
The Canadian Alliance of Business Travel today published the Business Travel Overview and 2007 Cost Forecast. This is the fifth such annual report offered by the Canadian Alliance, and it indicates that business travel will remain strong next year. The Alliance is providing complimentary copies of the report to attendees of its first-ever Travel Executive Symposium, held in Vancouver today, and to all of its members across Canada. In researching the report, the Canadian Alliance surveyed 78 member companies from across Canada of various business classifications with an average annual travel budget of $18.5 million per company. Key findings are as follows: • Eighty percent of respondents anticipate their firms' business travel expenditures to increase in 2007 over 2006. • 40 percent expect their companies' travelers to take more business trips (domestic, transborder, and/or international) in 2007 than 2006. • Majorities plan to maintain or increase the number of individual business travelers (65%), the number of meetings (60 percent) and the amount of group travel (55 percent). • The figures indicate continued, though slightly slower, growth in business travel in 2007. A year ago 89 percent of respondents expected increased expenditures in 2006, and 59 percent expected more trips, while slightly higher majorities planned to maintain or increase numbers of business travelers, numbers of meetings and amount of group travel. Tanya Racz, CCTE, president of the Canadian Alliance, said, 'The continued growth indicators show that business travel remains an integral component of Canadian companies' success plans. The slight leveling of that growth points to steps travel managers are taking to contain costs in an expensive travel market.' The report indicates the majority of Canadian travel managers expect increases in 2007 in domestic airfares (80 percent), transborder airfares (72 percent), international airfares (80 percent), car rental rates (55 percent) and hotel rates (80 percent). 'The Canadian Alliance of Business Travel is pleased to provide this report to members just as they are planning how their travel programs can best support their companies' strategic initiatives for 2007,' added Racz. 'This data will help give them a clear picture of the market in which they are working.' The Business Travel Overview and 2007 Cost Forecast was provided first to attendees of the Canadian Alliance's Travel Executive Symposium, held today in Vancouver. The event was expected to draw more than 40 corporate travel professionals, with more than 85 percent being travel buyers. In addition to the forecast report, the event featured a presentation on air travel security by Richard Bannister, Regional Manager of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA). The Business Travel Overview and 2007 Cost Forecast is available at no charge to members of the Canadian Alliance of Business Travel. Corporate travel professionals interested in joining should visit www.canadian-alliance.travel.