Preview 2010: Retail travel

The Great Recession is only one factor in driving change in this past year and for the future. Two other factors will be more important in the long run: continued rapid changes in technology and the changing nature of travelers themselves, writes Travel Weekly.

There is a fourth factor, too, though in the long run, it will fade: the huge dust-up in the news media about corporate meetings and incentive trips. The prospects for a faster recovery in this segment are good. The exception is the corporate sponsorship of high-end vacations for execs disguised as business meetings. Those events won’t resume at the former pace, and that means pain for a select segment of suppliers.

Nevertheless, the recession has been the central feature of the past year. It has produced some changes that will stick, in the view of close observers.

Brian Hace, vice president of client services for Carlson Wagonlit Travel North America, said there is a different tone today in the way travel managers and travelers consider travel purchasing. Corporate executives have shifted focus from merely negotiating the best hotel or air prices to understanding when and how travel provides a sensible payoff.

Get the full story at Travel Weekly
http://www.travelweekly.com/article3_ektid208192.aspx