New research¹, released ahead of the Business Travel Show (21-22 February), finds over four in five (84%) managers say that membership of ABTA is important or very important when they select a travel management company (TMC). This is up from 82% in 2017, and is even higher than the 74% of the general public who regard ABTA membership as essential or important when booking a holiday².

According to the research, managers at companies with an annual turnover of £50-99.99 million especially value ABTA membership, with over nine in ten (91%) stating that membership was very important or important when selecting a TMC. Similarly, 92% of companies with 50-99 employees took the same view.

Using a TMC that is a Member of ABTA is also particularly important for business owners (86%) and directors (87%).

Booking business travel through an ABTA Member allows corporate managers to book with confidence, knowing that their travel provider has passed ABTA’s financial fitness tests, including minimum capital requirements, balance sheet net asset strength and financial security requirements (where applicable) and that it follows ABTA’s Code of Conduct.

ABTA Members also benefit from a wide range of support services including crisis support and 24/7 operational bulletins about incidents and travel news that may affect their customers in the UK and overseas, all services that they can use to support their clients.

ABTA is one of the UK’s most recognised travel brands and has been voted a Business Superbrand for the last eleven years. 37 of the 50 largest TMCs are ABTA Members and a further 182 ABTA Members count business travel as their principal business.

Victoria Bacon, ABTA Director of Brand and Business Development said: 

“More and more business travel buyers see membership of ABTA as important or very important when choosing a TMC and it is a particular priority for directors and business owners. The fact that so many companies look for the ABTA logo when choosing a TMC is testament to the high standards and services that our Members deliver.

“ABTA provides a wide range of services and support both to our Members and their customers, and we remain firmly committed to developing and improving our offer for consumers and business travellers.”

ABTA staff will be at the Business Travel Show on stand B2304 to meet current and prospective ABTA Members and corporate travel managers to discuss the benefits of ABTA membership.

Notes to Editors

¹ The research was conducted by Censuswide, with 508 managers at companies where people travel for business (including 259 business decision makers) in GB between 31.01.2018 - 02.02.2018. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles. 

² Consumer research was conducted by Arkenford Ltd (www.arkenford.co.uk) who specialise in leisure and tourism market research. The ABTA Consumer Trends survey generated responses from a nationally representative sample of 2000 consumers using an online research methodology and related to holiday booking habits in the 12 months to August 2017. Fieldwork was conducted in August 2017.