Partner Article

Rail on the rise for European business travellers

• Four in five European claims made in the UK, Germany, France or Benelux regions
• More than two-thirds of journeys involved either London, Paris or Frankfurt
• 34 per cent more rail expense claims made across Europe in Q2 2016 than Q2 2015

Frankfurt, Germany, 14 November 2016, Concur, the world’s leading travel and expense management solutions provider, has observed a significant increase in expense claims for rail journeys around Europe over the past two years, with transactions rising rapidly year-on year. For instance, Concur witnessed a 34 per cent increase in the number of rail transactions made – from 709,973 to 954,813 – in the year leading to Q2 2016.

Scott Torrey, EVP and GM EMEA, at Concur says: “These figures are a timely reminder of the resurgent role of rail travel across the continent. With more than $500 million of rail expenses having been claimed on the Concur platform over the past two years, and with the number of transactions increasing almost every quarter, it’s absolutely essential that businesses get rail claims right.”

A deeper analysis revealed:

- The majority of claims were made in the continent’s largest economies, with 80 per cent of transactions originating in the UK (55 per cent), Germany (12 per cent), France (eight per cent) or the Benelux (five per cent). These transactions accounted for $418 million – or 83 per cent of the total spent on rail expense claims over the period.

- Rail travel revolves around the major financial centres, with 68 per cent of European rail journeys for business running either to or from London, Paris or Frankfurt. This big city dominance was especially pronounced in the UK, with 94 per cent of British business rail bookings featuring London as either the point of departure or destination.

- ‘Bleisure’ is on the rise in the on-the-go economy. Disneyland Paris is a surprisingly popular destination for business travellers, with 49,610 trips to the destination recorded on Concur between January 2014 and September 2016, suggesting that some travellers are making the most of time abroad by combining work with family life.

- Eurostar dominates the biggest routes. The high-speed rail service is the number one vendor on the four most popular routes around Europe, accounting for 157,091 bookings or 92 per cent of journeys between London and Paris or Brussels.

Torrey continues: “It’s not just about the money. Rail is a critical enabler of the on-the-go economy so it’s little wonder it’s on the rise. Perhaps more than any other mode of transport, it allows business travellers to get work done while on-the-move. Businesses that make it easy to travel by rail will have happier and more productive employees who don’t view travel as an added burden on top of their day jobs.”

These figures were sourced from Concur’s own user data. The firm analysed almost six million rail transactions over the two years up to Q2 2016.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Concur .