From how the election is impacting business travel to the latest updates on new cruise ships, here are the top travel headlines to watch.
GBTA: Presidential Election Drags Down Business Travel Growth
A new study from the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), suggests that the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming presidential election, as well as sluggish global expansion, low inflation, weak investment and choppy geopolitical conditions, are slowing business travel volume and spending growth.
According to the GBTA Foundation’s latest forecast for business travel in the United States, total business travel volume is expected to grow only 1 percent this year, while spending could fall by 0.6 percent. In 2017, the GBTA forecasts spending to increase 3.8 percent, although that will largely be driven by price inflation.
The report, GBTA BTI Outlook – United States 2016 Q3, cites three key drivers of business travel, all of which the GBTA describes as “mixed.” Indicators of business confidence remain weak but narrowly positive, which the GBTA said suggests a lack of enthusiasm for the near-term outlook. After-tax corporate profits fell for the fifth quarter straight in Q2 2016, which the GBTA said could translate to continued tighter expense controls, slow capital spending and constrained growth for the rest of the year. On the other hand, profits could become positive again in the second half of this year. Finally, weakness among key U.S. trading partners, combined with a strong currency, continue to drive down export performance, the GBTA said.
“Businesses are hiring and paying better wages, but business travel spending is stalled – something we rarely see happen,” said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. “The ongoing global uncertainty and added heartburn from a presidential election unlike any we have ever seen are causing many businesses to stay in a holding pattern, taking an extremely cautious wait-and-see approach bordering on paranoia.”
The report is available to members on the GBTA website.
In terms of the presidential candidates, a separate study by black car service GroundLink of over 300 frequent business travelers saw respondents favoring Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump 66 to 33 percent. When asked “which candidate would be better for frontline airline, hotel, restaurant and car service and taxi drivers,” 64 percent of respondents picked Clinton and 33 percent picked Trump. 3 percent picked third party candidates. 61 percent of respondents also picked Clinton as the better traveling companion on Air Force One, versus 34 for Trump and 5 percent for third party candidates.
The GroundLink survey also polled business travelers on what was the most pressing travel issue the new administration should focus on once elected. 62 percent of respondents picked terrorism and security, followed by 10 percent for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and security lines at airports, 9 percent for airport runways and infrastructure, nine percent for roads and highways, four percent for rail infrastructure and three percent for air traffic technology. 63 percent of those surveyed said that they believe the travel industry and the jobs it provides to the U.S. economy is “extremely important,” and 36 percent said it is “somewhat important.” 16 percent of those surveyed have donated money to one of the presidential candidates.
ASTA Weighs in on New DOT Rules
In air travel news, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) is applauding the new Department of Transportation (DOT) rules requiring airlines to refund checked bag fees in the event a traveler’s luggage is delayed, along with proposed rule making for other changes regarding airline reporting and air fare advertising.
In a statement, ASTA President and CEO Zane Kerby said, “On the whole, the latest round of DOT consumer protection rules will benefit the flying public and the travel agency community who serves them. In particular, we appreciate that proposals related to code-share disclosure and online biasing conform to existing Department guidance and do not add substantial new disclosure burdens to agencies. We also applaud the Department for setting aside unwarranted proposals on disclosure of carriers marketed and not marketed in ticket agents’ online displays and of travel agency incentive payments.”
“At the same time, we are disappointed that DOT is further delaying regulation on the disclosure of fees for basic ancillary services at all points of sale, an issue it has been studying for over five years,” Kerby said. “We have long urged the Department to strike a decisive blow for consumers by requiring full transparency and ‘transactability’ for airline ancillary fees.”
“We strongly reject airline arguments that such regulation ‘would only benefit those third parties who distribute tickets, not the flying public,’” Kerby said. “Travel agents advise the traveling public. Airlines and their surrogates argue that disclosing the full cost of travel is bad for the consumer. Following that logic, an airline should remove all ancillary fee information from its own website in order to better serve customers.”
Kerby noted that, under the current regulatory scheme, airlines have made $18.6 billion in ancillary fees, according to IdeaWorks, and argued that withholding information from consumers who use travel agents harms the traveling public.
ASTA said it is in the process of analyzing the new regulations and will be reporting to its travel agent members in the coming days.
Silversea Unveils Dining on the Silver Muse
Finally, in case you missed it, yesterday afternoon Silversea released new details on the dining options available onboard its new flagship, the Silver Muse, which is set to launch in April 2017.
The line announced a Silver Note venue that will pay tribute to classic Manhattan jazz clubs, hosting live performances and offering tapas-style dishes. The ship’s seven other restaurants range from La Dame, developed through the line’s exclusive partnership with Relais & Châteaux, to Japanese cuisine at Kabuki, India- and Thailand-inflected flavors at Indochine, “cook your own” dishes at Hot Rocks, Italian food at La Terrazza and Regina Margherita, and seafood at Atlantide.
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