Travel Counsellors has reported a booking spike for business travel, with transactions up nearly 70% compared with last year.
The homeworking agency highlighted transactions in its financial year to date (November to March) as compared with the same period in 2022.
Corporate bookings totalled more than £85m by the end of March, with 418 new accounts opened.
More: Travel Counsellors reports record-breaking 14-month period
Travel Counsellors’ managing director of corporate travel, Kieran Hartwell, said: “There has been a shift in corporate travel perception.
“While companies previously opted for an online service to book trips, the rise in air fares for one has made procurement teams re-evaluate their booking processes and many are now opting for that bespoke touch again in order to help manage costs.”
March sales came to £19.9m, said Travel Counsellors, which represented a rise of 37% on the same month last year.
There were 106 new corporate accounts opened in March, bringing the number of accounts trading in the UK to 1,558.
Travel Counsellors said there had been a rise in the number of agents booking corporate travel in recent months, such that there are now 342 corporate specialists in the UK and 504 globally.
The top three trading sectors for business travel bookings in March were the professional services market (1,847 bookings), financial services (1,386) and PR marketing and advertising (781).
The most common destinations for corporate bookings are the USA, UK and Australia, according to the agency.
Hartwell said: “We have the ability to offer a high touch, personalised service with the value of the online market through our in-house technology platform, Phenix.
“These strong results are a reflection of the trusted travel advice that our Travel Counsellors give to their corporate clients, as well as the advantages of more of our corporate entrepreneurs working in micro teams using our TC Teams technology, which enables them to provide round-the-clock outstanding personal service to their clients.”