Travelers Say Chicago Tops for Business Travel

By Gary Tufel -- Tradeshow Week, 2/28/2005

Business and convention travel has rebounded, according to a survey by travel industry groups.

The survey of 2,043 U.S. business travelers and 300,000 households, conducted by the Travel Industry Assn. of America, the Natl. Business Travel Assn. and the Institute of Business Travel Management, indicated that business and convention travel increased by more than 4 percent in 2004, after declining more than 14 percent between 1998 and 2003.

Suzanne Cook, TIA senior vice president of research, said business travel was one of the sectors most seriously affected by the events of recent years, and one of the slowest to recover. Nevertheless, she said, the industry is finally in recovery mode, with reasonably healthy growth expected over the next several years.

The report also ranked the popularity of U.S. cities visited by business travelers and convention travelers. Chicago topped both lists in the number of visitors, followed by Atlanta; Las Vegas; Orlando; and Washington, D.C., for convention and meeting travelers. Following Chicago on the list of cities favored by general business travelers were Atlanta; Los Angeles-Long Beach; New York; and Washington, D.C.

Chris Bowers, CEO of the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, said this "validates what we've been saying all along. Chicago is a top visitor destination and McCormick Place is at the heart of this success. Couple that with Chicago's central location, unmatched infrastructure and world-class attractions, and we have a remarkably strong business environment."

Despite what the report characterized as good news for business travel, the report also found growing acceptance of new business communication technologies as an alternative to travel. Nearly 40 percent of all business air travelers were substituting some form of technology, increasingly Web conferencing, for at least some travel in 2004 (although this is down from 47 percent in 2002, immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11).

Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of all business air travelers in 2004 felt that teleconferencing, webcasting or videoconferencing was somewhat or much more efficient than travel, up from 65 percent in 2002. However, only 37 percent of business air travelers felt such technology was more effective than a face-to-face meeting.

Despite the challenges, business travel remains big business. More than 38 million business travelers generated 210.5 million person-trips in 2003. And although business travel comprises 18 percent of total travel volume, these travelers generate 31 percent, or $153 billion, of domestic traveler spending.