KEY POINTS:
A survey of New Zealand travel tells us that the average corporate traveller headed for Australia, likes to go in luxury and prefers to fly Air New Zealand.
The MasterIndex of Travel survey, carried out twice-yearly by MasterCard, shows Kiwis are travelling overseas more, with a 2.1 per cent growth in outbound travel predicted for the rest of the year.
"This positive forecast for outbound travel corresponds with increasing personal disposable income and availability of low-cost travel options, making personal and business travel more accessible," says MasterCard Worldwide economic adviser Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong.
Australia remains the mecca for New Zealand business travellers, accounting for 56 per cent of business trips, with China second at 19.2 per cent.
"This has to be down to China's increasing importance as a trade partner for New Zealand," says MasterCard country manager Stuart McKinlay. "North Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Korea, is New Zealand's largest export trading region, taking nearly a quarter of our total exports.
"Global trade flows, population demographics and our developing international relations point to this region and the wider Asian region being the key to our future export-led growth."
The survey shows that business travellers like to treat themselves well and seem to have no trouble getting company approval to stay in top hotels.
Half the business travel respondents preferred international five-star hotels, and 19.2 per cent favoured five-star spa resorts and international four-star hotels.
"These days, business travellers are more discerning than ever and with the current New Zealand skills shortage, employers no doubt realise they have to look after staff, when on home soil and abroad," McKinlay says. Air New Zealand is the preferred business travel airline, favoured by 50 per cent of respondents, with Singapore Airlines second and Qantas third.
About 42 per cent of business travellers make their own travel arrangements.
Key concerns for international travellers, both business and personal, were security and safety, issues, becoming ill where medical treatment was inadequate, and losing their luggage.
- Detours, HoS
