• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 15, 2008

According to a recent Ipsos poll of U.S. adults, 37% of business travelers who planned to travel through the remainder of 2008 say their travel plans have been impacted by the current financial crisis. Additionally, 8% of U.S. business travelers say they have already cancelled a business trip they were planning to make by year-end, 6% are considering cancelling a business trip planned for 2008, and 10% have postponed a scheduled business trip until after January 1, 2009.

13% of American business travelers say they plan to substitute some of their 2008 business travel with conference calls and webinars where appropriate, says the report. 47% of the business travelers in the United States expect to continue with their business trips as planned, while 16%  plan to take all of their scheduled business trips, but their employer has asked them to be mindful of travel expenses.

While business travel is under pressure for the remainder of 2008, the picture is bleaker for 2009. Among U.S. business travelers:

• 40% say they expect to travel less often for business in 2009 compared to 2008
• 22% expect to travel more for business in 2009
• 38% say they expect to travel the same amount for business in 2009 as they did in 2008

Jim Quilty, Vice President with Ipsos' Travel and Tourism division, noted "...  business travelers have already taken action... the replacement of travel with webinars and conference calls... with the... expectation of less travel in 2009 are especially worrisome trends for the industry."

In the world of leisure travel, 21% of leisure travelers plan to cancel or postpone a trip through the remainder of 2008:

• 10% of Americans say they have already cancelled a leisure trip they were planning to make by year-end
• 4% say they are considering canceling a leisure trip they planned to take by year-end
• 7% have postponed a scheduled leisure trip until after January 1, 2009
• 27% plan to take all of their scheduled leisure trips, but say they will be more careful with their money
• 52% have no leisure trips planned between now and December 31, 2008

And, in 2009, says the report:

• 37% of Americans say they expect to travel less often for leisure in 2009
• 20% expect they will travel more often for leisure next year
• 43% say that they will travel the same amount for leisure in 2009 as they this year

Quilty concludes that "One of the few bright spots today is lowered gasoline prices which offers relief for the holiday drive market... "

For additional information about the study and Ipsos, please visit here.