A BCD Travel survey of 4,437 Scandinavian business travelers reveals why so many business travelers from northern Europe like to travel for work and what their preferences are. The survey also uncovers some notable differences between the Danes, Finns, Norwegians and Swedes.
People are traveling more than ever before, making the world appear smaller. And it’s not just for pleasure but for business, too. Do you think that business travel is annoying? If so, 4,437 business travelers in Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) would disagree with you. BCD’s survey gives you insight into Scandinavian business travelers’ preferences and market trends.
Scandinavians are keen on business travel
Three out of four Danish and Finnish business travelers like traveling for work. Their Norwegian neighbors are even more adventurous (88%), and the Swedish respondents are also keen on business travel (77%). All in all, Scandinavians enjoy traveling on business.
Discovering new places and escaping the daily grind
In all four countries, people stated the discovery of new places as the most important reason why they like traveling for business. Particularly the Finns (51%) and the Norwegians (50%), followed by the Danes (47%) and the Swedes (45%). For 50% of the Norwegians, escaping the daily grind is another important reason. Only 30% of the Danes and 36% of the Swedes mention this as important reason. 42% of Swedish travelers mentioned “staying in hotels” as another important reason for traveling.
Bleisure is trending
Combining business with pleasure is a trend in all four countries. But their preferred activities certainly differ during time off between meetings and conferences. 51% of the Finns prefer shopping, compared to only 28% of the Danes, 24% of the Norwegians and 29% of the Swedes. The Norwegians (35%) like to meet with friends during their business trip. But this is a lower priority for the Swedes (15%) and the Danes (16%).
Risk management
Risk management is a high priority for all Scandinavian business travelers. Ranking top with 64% are the Swedes, followed by the Finns (60%), the Danes (59%) and the Norwegians (56%).
Hotel location and direct flights
When it comes to choosing a hotel, location is the most important factor for all Scandinavian business travelers. The Finns are in the top ranks with 77%, followed by the Norwegians (69%), the Swedes (64%) and the Danes (55%).
Another important factor is the price, although it’s less important for the Danes (41%) than the Norwegians (51%) and the Finns (49%). Business amenities like Wi-Fi are also highly valued. Again, we see big differences: while almost half of the Finns (47%) find this important, followed by the Swedes (34%) and Norwegians (41%), this has less priority for the Danes (22%).
When it comes to choosing flights, direct flights are most important for the Finns (57 %), followed by Norwegians (54 %), Swedes (51%) and Danes (48%).
“The world is changing fast and it’s vital for us to fully grasp the needs of our clients. This study helps us to understand the Scandinavian business travelers’ preferences and the market trends in business travel. Of course, price is important to everyone and TMCs like BCD Travel help travelers cut costs and manage their trips. Interestingly, the survey findings show the location of the hotel is so much more important for Finnish travelers than for Danish travelers—that’s an eye-opener and we’ll look further into it,” concludes Anders Lau Nielsen, Director Client Management for the Nordics.
About the survey
The online survey was carried out by Kompas Kommunikation on behalf of BCD Travel during March and April 2017. Respondents were selected by YouGov and SmartResponse. In total 4,437: respondents participated in the survey:
- 1,113 from Norway
- 1,045 from Finland
- 1,035 from Sweden
- 1,244 from Denmark
71% of the respondents travel one to four times a year and 18% at least five times a year. 52% are men and 48% women. 44% are aged between 18 and 39, while 56% are above 40. 38% work for small companies, 26% for medium-sized companies and 36% for large companies.
If you use these survey findings, you must credit BCD Travel as the source.
