CWT Research Reveals 71% of Business Travelers Embrace Innovation

MINNEAPOLIS – EQS – 9 July 2019 – Research by CWT, the B2B4E travel management
platform, shows that 71% of global business travelers embrace travel
innovation. Travelers from the Americas and Asia Pacific are more likely to
favor it, with 75% and 71% respectively. Europeans, on the other hand, are
warier of the changes – 7% of them stating a reluctance to embrace travel
innovation versus 5% of Asia Pacific and 3% of Americas travelers.

Despite the
fact that it is tempting to assume that younger age is a big factor when it
comes to innovation acceptance, the results of this survey prove the opposite.
Only Asia Pacific millennials score higher: 79% versus 75% of Generation X and
60% of boomers. In the Americas, Gen X travelers lead the way (78%), followed
by millennials (76%) and boomers (70%), and in Europe millennials rank last at
64% after the two other generations at 67% each.

“Technological
innovation is the future, and frequent business travelers are already
benefitting from its potential,” said Andrew Jordan, CWT’s Chief Product
and Technology Officer. “Business travelers are people working away from
home – so why wouldn’t they want to embrace innovations that make their
journeys and their lives easier?”

Top 3
Devices While Traveling
When traveling for business, the top three most important devices to bring
along, according to the research, are cell phones (81%), computers (52%), and
portable battery chargers (41%). Portable battery chargers have been
increasingly favored by travelers since 2017 and have taken over the essential
third place from tablets. In 2017, only 23% of global travelers carried these
chargers. Tablets have dropped on the packing list from 37% (2017) to 32%
(2019).

Smartphones
are named among the three most important devices to bring along by 86% of
travelers from the Americas, 83% of travelers from Asia Pacific, and 73% of
Europeans. Again, Americas travelers score highest when it comes to computers:
59%, but Europeans (51%) overtake travelers from Asia Pacific (48%). The latter
are most concerned about running out of power while on the road, with 49% of
them bringing portable battery chargers versus 36% of Americas and 34% of
Europe travelers.

“Staying
connected on the road is not a luxury anymore, it is essential requirement,
with the number of devices being less important anymore, but rather how to
guarantee travelers can be accessible and feel productive throughout their
journey,” said Jordan.

Favorite
vs. Used Travel Innovation
Online check-in is both the favorite and most used travel innovation (18% and
45%), followed by:

– Google
services (16% and 42%);

– Online
booking tools (14% and 44%);

– Mobile
travel apps (12% and 41%);

–
Fingerprints and retina scans for airport security rather than ID (8% and 16%);

– TSA
(Transportation Security Administration) pre-check (6% and 16%);

– Online
visa requests (5% and 22%);

– Global
Entry (5% and 13%);

–
Ride-sharing (5% and 26%); and

– Hotels
and/or airports with robot or kiosk receptions (5% and 17%).

Travelers
from Asia Pacific show the biggest statistical differences, with 18% rating
Google services as their favorite innovation and 50% using them; 15% favoring
online booking tools and 49% using them.

47% of
travelers from the Americas use online check-in, 43% Google services, and 41%
mobile travel apps. TSA pre-check ranks the highest as their favorite
innovation (16%).

Europeans
show the smallest statistically significant differences, with 26% of them
rating online check-in as their favorite and 50% using it.

Note to
editor
Top 5 countries that embrace travel innovations the most:

1.
Argentina – 85%

2. Mexico –
85%

3. Brazil –
83%

4. Spain –
83%

5. Italy –
82%

About the survey

The survey was created by CWT and conducted by Artemis Strategy Group
between 29 January and 9 February, 2019. Responses were collected from more
than 2,700 business travelers who traveled for business four or more times in
the previous 12 months. Respondents were from the Americas (Argentina, Brazil,
Canada, Mexico, and the United States), Europe (Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK), and Asia Pacific
(Australia, China, India, Japan, and Singapore).

About CWT

CWT is a Business-to-Business-for-Employees (B2B4E) travel management
platform. Companies and governments rely on us to keep their people connected –
anywhere, anytime, anyhow – and across six continents, we provide their
employees with innovative technology and an efficient, safe and secure travel
experience. Every single day, we look after enough travelers to fill more than
100,000 hotel rooms, while our meetings and events division handles more than
100 events every 24 hours.

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About Artemis Strategy Group

Artemis Strategy Group is a research firm
specializing in brand positioning, thought leadership and policy issues.