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Educational travel activity during 2011 has maintained a good level of momentum. Events like natural disasters and industrial action have failed to dampen your participation in industry conferences and research and other educational trips. Yet they will be sure to impact the way your travel is managed in 2012.
This year has been one of continued but cautious recovery in the travel sector. Three years on from the peak of the Global Financial Crisis, there has been a continued bounceback in both travel demand and supplier pricing. Universities and other organisations have realised that to stay at the forefront of latest learnings, travel is essential.
However the GFC has changed the shape of education travel permanently, with your industry more cost conscious than ever. The lessons learned during the GFC will stay embedded in the way you manage travel for a long time, as you continue to keep a close watch on expenses and value.
Also changing the way you manage travel is 'the unexpected'. Emergencies like flight cancellations, airport closures, natural disasters and strikes - which only seem to be increasing in frequency - are being factored into travel management more effectively. These and other elements are set to create some defining trends in the year ahead.
As a whole, Campus Travel believes academic travel - as with the broader corporate travel sector - will experience slight growth and conservative price increases. We believe universities and educational institutions will continue to invest in travel for their growth, but remain cautious about the global economy.
The Asia Pacific region is likely to experience the most moderate increases in demand and supplier pricing globally, as its economic indicators remain in relatively good shape.
We expect Australian airfares to rise marginally, however still slightly higher than the increase for Asia Pacific overall. Stronger demand throughout the region is expected to push airfares upwards.
Virgin Australia is set to continue its push into the corporate market with new aircraft and a growing focus on service and schedules. It has also partnered with Singapore Airlines, in an alliance which should help re-ignite a level of international competition not seen since the days of Ansett Australia.
While Qantas will endeavour to claw back marketshare, we should see further expansion of Jetstar once it takes delivery of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Internationally, Emirates and Etihad will continue to offer extremely competitive alternatives, while we also expect to see more low cost carriers expanding into and out of Asia, including Air Australia Airways (formerly Strategic Airlines). The trans-Pacific route will remain dominated by Virgin Australia and Qantas.
The hotel industry in Australia has enjoyed quite a boom this year, with growth rates among the highest in the world and prices almost back to pre-GFC levels! This has particularly been the case in cities such as Perth and Brisbane where demand is outstripping supply and increases over the next 12 months could be as high as 20%. Sydney rates are expected to climb at a similar rate, while Melbourne increases could be in the more modest range of 3-6%.
This upward trend is being underpinned by an overall increase in activity. This includes the mining boom in Perth, as well as inbound travel and international conventions. Regionally, the key business centres across Asia Pacific are recording the highest occupancy rates worldwide.
In the car rental industry, even though growth is occurring we expect car rental rates to remain relatively stable or increase only slightly. While price increases are anticipated across hotel and car rentals, Campus Travel continuously negotiates with suppliers to secure exclusive academic rates.
During 2012, Campus Travel believes there are two key elements that have remained strong over recent years and will continue to dominate the way academic travel is managed: a focus on a comprehensive return on investment and increased reliance on traveller tracking and duty of care.
The areas of travel management directly associated with these trends are summarised below, along with our recommendations on how to use them to your best advantage.
With travel prices expected to rise in an uncertain global economy, travel mandates and consolidation of suppliers and expenses will be used more effectively to set the boundaries around travel, tighten compliance and cut unnecessary costs. These tools will provide the added certainty that your organisation is travelling cost-effectively and preventing leakage in your spend.
Campus recommendation: If your organisation doesn't yet have a travel policy or has not reviewed it for 12 months or longer, it is time to discuss it with your Campus Travel Account Manager. We can create or improve your policy so it best suits the type and volume of travel you anticipate for the year ahead.
Travel procurement in the education sector is steadily becoming a higher priority and more effective. Organisations are trending away from using regular travel agencies to a sole, specialist TMC that fully understands your industry and can benchmark to drive lower average ticket prices. These universities are also experiencing benefits such as reduced travel spend overall, enhanced productivity and improved duty of care to their travellers.
Campus recommendation: As a specialist TMC for academia, Campus Travel can capably manage a diversity of itineraries, purchase orders and requests, while benchmarking your travel performance against other academic organisations. If you are still working with a non specialist travel consultancy, ask yourself if you are maximising the travel benefits available to you.
In the wake of the Qantas grounding, 24/7 emergency assistance will be top of mind in your industry in the new year. This unprecedented event again showed the huge value of working with a TMC that provides after-hours support and enhances your duty of care.
In situations like these, Campus Travel works around the clock. Our 24/7 team runs location reports on affected travellers, maintains close contact to discuss alternative travel plans, and manages the re-bookings. As our emergency team is in-house, we can immediately access your traveller profiles using a secure log-in and ensure your data is fully protected. You can save substantial time, cost and frustration by letting us take complete care of the situation for you, knowing we will source the best available options and rates.
Campus recommendation: It is important that we have all your traveller profiles entered into our system so we can contact your affected travellers faster in an emergency. If your travellers don't need to travel urgently during a crisis, we also advise that you let the situation settle rather than try to re-book straight away. Airlines can often resume normal operations quickly.
While personalised travel service will always be paramount in your sector, Campus Travel is seeing more educational organisations adopt our online booking tool. This tool gives you the ability to save costs by making your own bookings while complying with your travel policy. By using our OBT you can also source the best available rates and specially negotiated academic rates that Campus Travel exclusively offers your sector.
Campus recommendation: Campus Travel's OBT is extremely user friendly and we provide all the training and backup support you and your bookers need to master it quickly.
With the growing focus on mandating, compliance and technology tools, 2012 will see more of you tuning into streamlined reporting and expense management. Campus Travel's technology takes the information from every booking you make and stores it in a central resource. From there, we can produce reports on any aspect of your travel activity or cost you need. You can have a single view of your total travel costs by traveller or supplier, by timeframe, by city or region, or for your whole organisation. Using this technology lets you track and contain your costs quickly and easily.
Campus recommendation: If your organisation is not using an expense management tool, talk to your Campus Travel Account Manager about the savings and other benefits it can deliver. Use your charge card for all work related expenses, as this will automatically feed into your expense management tool when you return from your trip, saving you significant time - and frustration.
Your policy compliance levels and savings will be even higher if your travel bookers are part of a TMC loyalty program. Campus Travel's innovative 'Smart Advantage' program encourages compliance by rewarding those directly responsible for making the bookings, whether they are travel bookers, personal assistants or travellers themselves. Our innovative program is designed to deliver benefits at both the personal and organisational levels.
Campus recommendation: Speak to your Campus Travel Account Manager about registering for 'Smart Advantage'. Registration is simple and free of charge, and the program will help your organisation achieve a measurable difference in your policy compliance levels.
With online adoption growing every day, more of you will turn to your smartphones in the new year to help organise your travel-related plans. Whether you are searching for local maps, weather forecasts or restaurant bookings, your smartphone will increasingly be your pocket assistant.
With travel-related applications continuously being released, your smartphone will make your life on the road even easier with more tools to assist you than ever. Some of you are already using them to access your itineraries and check-in at the airport.
Campus recommendation: While it seems all too easy to book your own flights, hotels and car hire using your smartphone, remember to always book these through Campus Travel so you can access the best academic rates in the industry. This is the best way to keep travel costs down and maximise the savings for your organisation.
With travel pricing on the way up in 2012, you need to stay on top of the latest travel management and procurement practices so you can minimise the cost impacts. Mandating through one TMC, 24/7 support, technology and loyalty programs are all critical cost-savers in your travel. So if you don't currently have these tools in place, now is the time to speak with your Campus Travel team so you can hit the ground running in the new year!
If you would like further advice on any of these tips, contact your local Campus Travel team now or phone 1300 882 021 - we're here to help you!
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*Based on Australian registered businesses & websites for travel departing within Australia. Written quote must be presented prior to booking. All prices are subject to availability. Travel restrictions and terms and conditions apply. Please ask us for further details.