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