Singapore - Asia-Pacific has reported higher budget increases for this year than other parts of the world, with corporate travel managers expecting to book 10 to 20 per cent more flights this year compared with 2003.

This is according to a survey of corporate travel managers, travel suppliers and corporate travel agencies conducted jointly by Airclaims, a UK-based international transport and tourism consultancy, BTN Asia-Pacific and the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation based in Sydney. The survey had 530 responses.

Firms in Asia-Pacific expect at least 16 per cent higher budgets than the global average mainly because of an expected increase in travel volume.

Airclaims’ chief economist, Mr Peter Morris, said: “This is in line with the increased number of flights they are expecting to take, which means they will still be seeking corporate deals.”

While many companies are flexible and willing to make exceptions to their travel policies, some changes are here to stay. These changes not only reflect the trend of lower costs per head, they also indicate cautious sentiment among the corporates.

Ten per cent said they had reduced the number of staff required to travel, about 25 per cent said they now insisted on corporate discounts from airlines and 20 per cent had cut back on business-class travel.

Travel managers surveyed also indicated that travel agents were by far their major source of travel advice (63.4 per cent). Their next major source of travel advice was industry publications (14.2 per cent), followed by the media (11.9 per cent).

More travel planners in Singapore relied on travel agents as their major source of travel advice (69.2 per cent) than those in Hong Kong (62.1 per cent). Surprisingly, fewer travel planners in Malaysia (55.6 per cent) and in Indonesia (58.8 per cent) relied on travel agents for the same service.

What has changed is the fact that corporate travellers now require their agents to be even more resourceful than before and not just provide information that they themselves can find via the Internet.

But Mr Morris said going by the UK examples, travel agents were a resourceful lot and he expected agents in the Asia-Pacific region to be the same, if not better.“At the corporate travel level, the services offered by the top agents in the UK have been repeatedly enhanced – and in doing this the convenience/reliability factor of agencies taking responsibility for complex requirements carries great weight with many companies.

“The larger agency networks are genuinely in the position of being able to offer good prices and top service – for which companies are very willing to pay fees.”

As to which travel suppliers are favourites of Asia-Pacific corporate travellers, Singapore Airlines is the hot favourite followed by Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and Malaysia Airlines. For hotels, Shangri-La leads the pack followed by Hyatt and Marriott. And for car rentals, Hertz is more popular than Avis.

For the full report of the survey, The Future of Corporate Travel in Asia-Pacific 2003, please contact Airclaims’ chief economist, Mr Peter Morris, at tel: (+44 20) 8897-1066; e-mail: peter.morris@airclaims.co.uk