Business Travel On An Upward Trend

SYDNEY, March 2, 2012 — Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), a global leader specialised in managing business travel and meetings and events, today announced record performance in 2011. Sales volume, at USD $28.0 billion, grew by 15.2% compared to 2010 (USD $24.3 billion) and the number of transactions managed by CWT increased by 7.2% year over year to reach 61.9 million.

CWT’s growth in 2011 can be attributed to several factors. CWT retained over 96% of its existing client-base, it won USD $2.2 billion in new business and acquired three companies: Kaleva Travel, Centenial Group and Net Tours. Moreover, growth was not limited to the traditional areas of business travel but also included CWT’s specialised areas of expertise: CWT Solutions Group, the company’s consulting arm, CWT Energy Services and CWT Meetings & Events.

CWT’s key performance indicators are in line with global trends indicating that business travel is increasing. “We are seeing strong growth across the industry, despite the unpredictable economic environment,” said Douglas Anderson, CWT President and CEO. “Global corporations are more optimistic about their travel spend going forward and certain areas of the world, such as Asia and Latin America, continue to show strong growth.”

CWT’s results reflect regional economic trends around the world. CWT grew most in Asia Pacific, where transactions increased by 18.5% year over year; Latin America increased by 12.7%; North America by 5.2%; and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) by 6.2%.

2011 business highlights
On top of a record-breaking year in terms of performance, CWT introduced a range of new products and published regular business intelligence studies and best practices offering actionable insights into travel management.
• CWT Market, a free mobile application that aggregates travel apps and mobile web sites.
• CWT To GoTM, giving corporate travellers access to essential travel information (mobile check-in, flight status, gate changes, delays, etc.).
• CRS by CWT, a central hotel reservation system, consolidating non-GDS hotel content in one place.
• CWT Travel Management Institute produced a series of publications giving insights into the business travel and meetings market, including its 2012 Travel Price Forecast, Business Travel Market Trends in 2012 and Travel Management Priorities for 2012.

About Carlson Wagonlit Travel
CWT is a global leader specialised in managing business travel and meetings and events. CWT serves companies, government institutions and non-governmental organisations of all sizes in more than 150 countries and territories. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and leading-edge technology, CWT helps clients derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of savings, service, security and sustainability. The company is also committed to providing best-in-class service and assistance to travellers. CWT services and solutions comprise Traveler & Transaction Services, Program Optimisation, Safety & Security, Meetings & Events and Energy Services. In 2011, sales volume for wholly owned operations and joint ventures totaled US$28.0 billion. For more information about CWT, please visit our global website at www.carlsonwagonlit.com. Follow us on Twitter @CarlsonWagonlit.

ENDS

© Scoop Media