Press releases
Technology further reducing the need for business travel
Almost half of all business travellers (48%) said that technology has reduced their need to travel over the last 12 months, according to research out today from Barclaycard Business. It indicates that senior staff are being influenced the most by technology. More than half of CEOs (51%) and board directors (55%) claim advances in technology have had the biggest impact on reducing their travel.
The 10th annual Barclaycard Business Travel Survey reveals that many business travellers are choosing to communicate remotely or virtually rather than meet face-to-face. Eight out of ten (84%) see email as a way of reducing the need for business travel with tele-conferencing (36%) and video-conferencing (32%) also featuring highly.
Technology is also proving valuable for business people on the move. The last twelve months have seen DVD, MP3 players and 3G technology all have an impact for the first time. Wireless hotspots have become twice as popular, perhaps due to an increasing availability, with over a quarter 29% saying they now use them when travelling, compared to just 13% last year. The most popular mobile technology includes laptops and mobile phone powerpoints which two-thirds of all business travellers have used in the past year.
When asked which technologies were used when travelling, the following was revealed:
- Laptop and mobile phone power points (66%)
- Facilities to enable remote access to email (40%)
- Wireless hotspots (29%)
- Portable music players (23%)
- Portable DVD players (10%)
- Broadband on planes and trains (9%)
- 3G handsets (7%)
The research also highlights differences between the sexes. Men still appear to be the more hi-tech of the two genders, with only a third of women (33%) claiming to have accessed email on the move. Comparatively, almost half (43%) of men check their emails during business trips.
Just under half (46%) of all business travellers believe that technology did not effect the need to travel and out of these almost nine out of ten (87%) thought that face-to-face meetings will never be replaced.
Tim Carlier of Barclaycard Business comments, "These findings emphasise the influence technology is having on modern day business. Technologies such as email and video-conferencing can reduce the need to travel but the results highlight that meetings will always be an integral part of business practice. Factors like time zones and cultural barriers will become greater issues as businesses expand across international borders therefore personal meetings and face-to-face interaction is key to helping overcome these problems."
