Can you afford business travel in 2024?

How to get more bang for your buck from your business travel budget

Planning for business trips in 2024? Hold onto your budget for business travel because in 2024, business travel expenses are expected to soar, and you might need to boost your travel budget by at least 20% to keep pace – as revealed in a new Corporate Traveller white paper, “2024: The Year SME Travel Comes of Age”.

The reason? Rising fuel costs, flight demand, and operational expenses are forcing airlines to raise airfares by 3-7%. Hotels are bumping up rates by 3-8%, too. It's happening globally.

Bonnie Smith, GM of Corporate Traveller points out that South African businesses feel particular pain because of the unpredictable nature of currency fluctuations, especially with the reduced airline capacity to critical business hubs. Her advice for better travel expense management and business travel savings?

When planning your travel budgets, it's essential to factor in potential currency swings, rising airfare costs, both domestically and internationally, and even the likelihood of higher expenses on food and beverages.

How to get more bang for your buck from your business travel budget

Step	Ask yourself	How to take action
1	Is this trip really necessary?	Set a clear purpose for each trip. Every business trip should have well-defined goals aligned with business objectives. These goals guide planning and help measure the ROI afterwards.
2	Do I have a travel policy to manage spending?	Set up a travel policy if you don't have one, and then support it with approval workflows to ensure you only say yes to the trips that really matter. Technology can help automate the process. Dig into the data on where travellers are travelling to, and where the high costs of travel are giving red flags.
3	Am I getting the best prices possible?	If not, work with a TMC like Corporate Traveller to benefit from the discounts on flights, hotels, car rentals, and more. Watch your trip costs drop in no time.
4	Do my travellers know how to cut travel costs?	Encourage your team to take an active role. Ask for their feedback, ensure they're budget-conscious, and remind them about the company's travel rules.
5	Are we tracking spending?	Keep track of what your travellers spend on travel before, during, and after. Use analytics to understand if it was all worth it. Armed with this info, you can make better travel decisions in the future.

About Flight Centre Travel Group
The Flight Centre Travel Group is one of the world’s largest travel retailers and corporate travel managers. The company, which is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, has company-owned leisure and corporate travel business in dozens of countries, spanning Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Europe, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Asia. ASX listed Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) also operates the global FCM corporate travel management network, which extends to more than 100 countries through company-owned businesses and independent licensees, along with Corporate Traveller, the flagship business specific to the small-to-medium-sized enterprise sector. For more information, visit fctgl.com.