What Kind of Business Traveler Are You?

By Rieva Lesonsky

Where do you fit into the five types of business travelers uncovered in a recent Global Business Travel Association survey? The survey of about 800 businesspeople who travel at least 4 times annually on business found that business travelers fall into five categories:

1. The Veteran – These experienced travelers take an average of 12 trips per year with an average of four nights away from home per trip; 88 percent are age 35 or older. Their key goal when traveling is ensuring they aren’t hindered by a lack of equipment of connectivity; as a result, they’re always looking for new technology to make them more productive on the road. This group enjoys traveling, and a whopping 94 percent bring laptops on the road.

2. Road Weary – This group takes an average of 15 trips taken per year with an average of three nights away from home per trip; 74 percent are age 35 or older. Their most important goals on the road are feeling safe when on a trip (42 percent) and staying in touch with family (41 percent).  Perhaps due to safety concerns, the Road Weary travelers are the most likely of all traveler groups to bring a portable GPS device.

3. Wide-eyed and Anxious – These novice travelers tend to be younger (89 percent are under 55). They take an average of 11 trips taken per year with an average of four nights away from home per trip. They have less experience on the road than other groups, so while they enjoy travel, they get nervous navigating new destinations and following policies.

4. Passionate High-Tech – These enthusiastic travelers take an average of 13 trips per year with an average of four nights away from home per trip; 91 percent are under age 54. Passionate High-Tech travelers love to travel for work and look to technology to make them more productive help them keep in touch with friends and family. They tend to spend more per trip than other groups and are more likely to fly. This group embraces new technologies such as tablet devices (25 percent) while on the road.

5. New Recruits –These less experienced travelers take an average of 14 trips year with an average of six nights away from home per trip. They are the youngest group with (98 percent) under age 54. This group is eager to explore new destinations while on business and eager to travel more and share experiences. They tend to work in high-tech industries and travel internationally on business, and they often use social media to meet up with friends and colleagues on the road.

Whatever group you belong to, despite the fact that nearly half (46 percent) of those surveyed say they are dealing with tight travel budgets, 78 percent agreed that there is no substitute for being there in person.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Business Development, Networking, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Workforce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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