CLEVELAND, Oct. 8, 1997 - More business travelers are "on the road" than ever before according to the just-released 1996 Survey of Business Travelers, sponsored by Reed Travel Group and conducted by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA).

42.9 Million Business Travelers

A record number of U.S. adults took at least one business trip during 1996. This number has steadily increased over the last several years. The current number of 42.9 million business travelers reflects a 12% increase since the 1994 Survey of Business Travelers, and a 21% increase in the number of business travelers over 1991.

193 Million Business Trips

The National Travel Survey reports 193 million business trips were taken in 1996. Even though there are more travelers, they are taking fewer trips on average in 1996 than in 1994. The average number of trips per traveler decreased by one per traveler, from 6.3 trips per traveler on average in 1994 to 5.3 trips per traveler on average in 1996.

The average business traveler is a well-educated professional male, 40 years of age, married with an employed spouse. The "average" business traveler is a male about 40 years of age, married (68%), and has children (51%) in the household.

However, since the 1994 survey, the proportion of single (never married) business travelers has increased slightly from 20% to 22% in 1996. The educational level of business travelers is slightly lower than in the last survey. In 1994, 57% were college graduates, whereas currently only 54% are college graduates. The average household income of business travelers is $68,900, reflecting no change from the 1994 survey. However, since a few travelers with very high incomes may inflate the mean figure, the median of $54,381 is generally considered a more realistic representation of business travelers' incomes. Almost half (49%) of business travelers refer to their occupations as professional or managerial. This represents a change from 1994 when more than half (55%) of business travelers reported a professional or managerial occupation.

More Details on the Business Travel Market ...

• As a proportion of total business travelers, women have edged up slightly since 1994, increasing from 38% to 40%. Currently, 60% of business travelers are men, and 40% are women. In actual numbers, this represents 17.2 million female business travelers and 25.7 million male business travelers.
• The majority of business travelers (58%) are infrequent travelers, taking only one or two business trips a year. These infrequent travelers generate only a small percentage (18%) of all business trips taken during 1996.
• Frequent travelers, taking ten or more trips annually, comprise only 14% of all business travelers. However, they are an influential group, accounting for 54% of all business trips. Since 1994, frequent travelers account for a slightly smaller proportion of total travelers. Since the number of travelers overall has grown, frequent travelers have increased in number from 5.7 million individuals in 1994 to 6 million in 1996.
• The number of business air travelers has continued to increase from 17.2 million in 1991, to 19.2 million in 1994, to 21.1 million currently. The 1996 figure is the first to surpass the previous high of 19.4 million business air travelers in 1990. Among the total of 42.9 million business travelers, 21.7 million business travelers do not take any air trips annually.
• One-third of all business travelers participate in a frequent flyer program, and 16% in a frequent lodger program.
• The average business trip lasted 3.3 days in 1996, slightly less than the 3.6 days noted in 1994.
• Two out of ten business travelers (21%) combined business and vacation on their last business trip. A higher percentage of women travelers than men will combine business and vacation in one trip (25% vs. 18% respectively).
• Three-fourths of travelers stayed in a hotel or motel on their last business trip.
• The South Atlantic is still the most prevalent destination for business travel, drawing one-fourth of travelers. In 1996, the South Atlantic attracted 3% more travelers than in 1994. The Pacific, East North Central and West South Central regions are the next most popular destinations, each drawing 13% to 15% of business travelers.

The 1996 Survey of Business Travelers, which is based on the National Travel Survey and conducted by TIA's research department, will be available for purchase from TIA in mid-October by calling 202-408-TIAA. The report costs $100 for TIA members and $175 for non-members.

Reed Travel Group, with more than 2,500 employees in more than 50 offices around the world, is the world's largest independent provider of travel information products and services to business travelers, travel planners and the global travel industry. The businesses serve all major global travel markets, including air transportation, hotel, cruise, meetings, leisure, cargo, rail and other travel sectors.

Reed Travel Group's leading business portfolio includes OAG, Travel Weekly, TravelAge, Meetings Conventions, Hotel Travel Index, TravelNet, Weissmann Travel Reports, ABC Corporate Services, Reed Travel Training and Utell International.

Reed Travel Group is a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group, a world leading publisher and information provider in the areas of scientific, professional, business and consumer publishing.

http://www.reedtravelgroup.com.

Source: Reed Travel Group

Contact::

Peter Duckler or Pamela Flores of HLB Communications, 312-649-0371