Survey conducted by Nina & Pinta and GlobalStar Travel Management included responses from travel managers of programmes with less than US $30 million in annual spend.
LONDON – London-based managed travel consultancy and accredited training provider Nina & Pinta released research produced in partnership with worldwide travel management organisation GlobalStar Travel Management on small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their future travel programme requirements.
The white paper, titled Shrink the World: How to Globalise Your Travel Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises, includes survey data from 194 travel category managers, 152 of those coming from programmes with less than US $30 million in annual travel spend, providing a snapshot of SME travel programmes today. Key survey findings include:
- 86% of SME respondents manage travel in more than one country, 71% manage travel in more than three countries and 29% in more than 20 countries.
- 96% of SME respondents have benefitted from taking their travel programme multinational.
- 42% of SME respondents have increased the number of countries in their travel programme over the past two years, and 49% of SME respondents believe their travel programme will cover more countries by 2022.
- 23% of SME respondents say they have someone in their organisation responsible for travel (something much more usual in large multinationals).
- 21% of SME respondents say suppliers and service providers are better set up to serve them today. This is especially true in the TMC sector, where certain service providers now cater specifically for SME clients going global.
The paper explores the many benefits noted in the survey results of taking SME programmes multinational, including risk mitigation, compliance, savings, administrative efficiencies, and an improved traveller experience. It then outlines five steps to help SME travel managers take their travel programme multinational, including how to get started, who to collaborate with internally and externally, and how to implement.
“A common misconception we’ve found is that consolidating travel spend, policy and supplier choices internationally only works for the world’s biggest companies,” said Steve Hartwell, GlobalStar President & CEO. “This paper is intended to dispel that myth by sharing an accurate picture of SME travel programmes today and outlining the many benefits that come with taking programmes multinational.”
The benefits SME survey respondents identified in taking their managed travel programme multinational align closely with those selected by larger companies (more than US $30 million annual global travel spend), demonstrating that what companies want from travel programme globalisation is very similar regardless of size.
“Improved duty of care, better policy compliance, and reduced costs are three goals almost all companies, regardless of size, list as critical for their travel programmes,” said Jo Lloyd, founding partner of Nina & Pinta. “Our survey results indicate that many SMEs have reached these goals by going multinational. We hope that this white paper has provided a path that any company can follow to multinational travel management and enjoy the associated benefits.”
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She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
