Women are more organised, plan further ahead and differ in terms of their travel priorities (as per a survey of 1000 business travellers conducted by BMI Regional). Women have their own distinct travel habits that differentiate female travellers from their male colleagues. A quarter of women business travellers fly more now than they did five years ago and women tend to plan their business travel further in advance than men.
For business women, travelling and spending time away from home on business often means putting everything else on a back-burner – multi-tasking their job with beauty, shopping and eating on-the-go. Airports should tap into the needs of these big spenders and entice them to splurge while they are on-the-go.
The rise of the Asia Pacific Female Business Traveller
Asia Pacific travel is currently dominated by men, accounting for almost three-quarters of all business travellers, particularly in Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India.
Amadeus Asia Pacific estimated that in 2011 there were approximately 4.5 million international business trips by women from the seven countries (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Singapore) they studied – but by 2030 this will have increased by 400%.
Singapore is among the leading regional markets for female business travellers. 32% of all business travellers from Singapore were females, a much higher proportion than from countries such as India, Indonesia, Japan and Korea.
What do Female Business Travellers Want?
Since, the number of women business travellers is rising across the world, it becomes critical to understand what can airlines, airports, travel agents, car rental companies, hotels and airport lounge operators do to address their needs.
Female executives are interested in two specific areas: safety and connectivity. Being one of the fastest growing business traveller segments, airlines and airports should accommodate their needs to build healthier relationship:
- Personal Safety: Security is top on the list of what women look for when they travel for business (or pleasure)
- Connectivity: Women would much rather have free Wi-Fi and plenty of it. Women actively share information, with their extended network of friends and colleagues
- Being Valued: Women are likely to join loyalty programs and stick with brands they like (facilities that go above and beyond the standard and make them feel pampered)
- Empowerment: A perfect airport business lounge that maintains personal wellbeing (massage chairs, healthy food options, etc.)
- Personal Comfort: Facilities that make their journey stress-free and convenient (changing rooms, nursing rooms, enhanced ambience of airline lounges)
Trigger the Emotional Drivers
Functional drivers are not enough for the female business travellers. Airlines and airports should aim at the emotional drivers to target this big spending group of travellers.
By Khushboo Pandey – Senior Research Consultant
For further information on THINK Global Research, please contact Kristy Ihle (Managing Director): info@thinkglobalresearch.com.
