Fifty per cent of business trips in the pharmaceutical industry are for conferences – proportionally more than any other industry sector, The Heathrow Express Business Travel Insights Report has found.
The state of the nation report on business travel across the UK, Germany and the US also found that 85% of pharmaceutical personnel upgraded to premium economy, Business or First Class on long-haul journeys, with a surprising 19% of respondents reporting that their companies set no allowance for the cost of dining and accommodation per night and a further 28% saying that they don’t have any formal policies on food and drink at all.
An average of 2.6 domestic business trips and 2.3 international business trips a year were taken by business travellers in the pharmaceutical sector, the survey revealed. The average length of business trips in the sector is 5.1 nights with 20% of travellers stating that they had taken more trips in 2017 compared to the year before.
While 15% reported that they had put a greater reliance on travel management companies over the past three years, 42% said that they booked business travel themselves. Twenty-one per cent admitted that personal assistants booked their business travel while 7% said business travel companies booked business trips and 11% were transacted by other external companies.
Eight out of ten business travellers ranked personal safety as their number one priority when booking flights and accommodation, whereas speed was stated as the most important factor when booking travel transfers to and from airports.
Fraser Brown, Heathrow Express director said: “These findings tell us that workers in the pharmaceuticals sector value speed on their business trips, which is why as well as offering excellent customer service and a premium on board experience, Heathrow Express’ focus is to provide a reliable service connecting London and Heathrow in just 15 minutes.”
The Heathrow Express Business Travel Insights Report, 2017, surveyed 2,424 travellers and reveals booking and travel patterns, insights into work/life balance, personal spending habits and thought processes behind current decision-making trends.
Research consultants Arkenford conducted online research among international business travellers in August 2017.
