Egencia releases 2010 corporate travel global benchmarking study

Gurgaon, JUne 8 (ANI): Egencia, an Expedia, Inc. company, today unveiled its 2010 Corporate Travel Global Benchmarking Study, evaluating the current business travel landscape and corresponding supply environment for air, hotel and car inventory.

Focusing on top domestic and international business destinations in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Egencia analyzed industry trends, supplier research and capacity implications in Q1 2010.

The study validates themes uncovered in Egencia's 2010 Forecast and Hotel Negotiability Index, including that the hotel market for corporate travel has experienced significant decreases in Q1. n addition, Egencia also surveyed more than 400 travel buyers in North America and Europe regarding travel program expectations, policies and challenges.

"We are seeing changes in corporate travel purchasing and management behavior by customers.We're seeing a different pricing picture compared to this time last year," said Gaurav Sundaram, Country Director , Egencia India.

"While corporate travel spending is certainly on the upswing, companies seek to control spend and buy smart . While their air programs are quite structured and disciplined, the greatest incremental saving opportunity for corporations is found with hotels," Sundaram added.

As a result of the economic downturn and resulting decrease in travel in 2009, airlines have maintained capacity discipline into 2010. With increased demand for business travel in Q1 2010, this has resulted in an increase in average ticket prices. Higher fuel surcharges, reduced competition on many routes and the dramatic slowing of route expansion has also resulted in upward pressure on ticket prices for major business destinations in North America.

The chart below illustrates Q1 YoY ATP figures in U.S. dollars in selected business travel destinations for North American points of sale.

Egencia is the fifth largest travel management company in the world. As part of Expedia, Inc., (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world's largest travel marketplace, Egencia helps businesses get ahead by offering the only truly integrated corporate travel service. Egencia's industry expertise helps drive results that matter, delivering meaningful advancements that have a real impact. By combining a powerful offline and online service, Egencia delivers a complete corporate travel offering supported by global market expertise and a best-in-class technology platform. (ANI)