ONE-THIRD of business travellers in the UK do not use a business travel agent, preferring to make their own arrangements.
Travel Research Centre managing director Michael Brooks said many are small organisations who use the Internet to book a flight.
He said GBTA members should be targeting these business travellers to offer them better deals. Brooks said: “There is a huge amount of untapped business out there and members are losing out on a huge revenue business.”
He said GBTA members should offer these business travellers access to their fare database, which would be more wide-ranging than the Internet. “GBTA members can charge a premium and also derive an income from these people who would otherwise contribute nothing,” he said.
“When their business starts to create significant revenue, members can start to tackle them about taking over their business travel arrangements.”