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www.travelweekly-asia.com 12 | ITB ASIA Official Dailies 12 | TrAvel Weekly ASIA Official Dailies BUSINESS COSTS ON THE RISE New report sees hikes in airfares, room rates and car rental A new cost-of-doing-business report has found that demand from emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, and improved economic growth in advanced economies, combined with limited advances in travel supply, will result in an upward pressure on rates, particularly in high-demand travel markets. Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) and the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) have released the 2015 Global Travel Price Outlook report, which gives an early indication of what businesses can expect in 2015. "The study reveals that travel managers are expecting price increases next year across the board on travel categories including airfares, hotel room rates and rental car rates," said Joseph Bates, GBTA Foundation vice president of research. "Risks to the forecast including the escalating Ukrainian crisis; declining European inflation; burgeoning debt in China and oil price shocks could potentially have a negative influence on travel demand and pricing however, so travel managers are advised to consider contingencies for these risks in their planning," Bates said. The 2015 Global Travel Price Outlook indicates that with rising demand, favourable cost structures and slowly expanding capacity, airfares are expected to rise gradually through 2015, by as much as 2.2%, although low-cost carriers are limiting price increases in some regions. Expect the growth in traffic among low-cost carriers to lead to diminished pricing power of many legacy carriers in Asia Pacific. Hotel suppliers, the report suggests, will be in a better negotiating position than they have been for some time in 2015, due in part to stronger demand and investor interest, and favourable capital costs. This improved outlook could lead to greater pressure on negotiated rates for travel managers and buyers, and globally, prices are expected to rise by as much as 2.6%. Corporate travel