MINNEAPOLIS - EQS - 9 July 2019 - Research by CWT, the B2B4E travel managementplatform, shows that 71% of global business travelers embrace travelinnovation. Travelers from the Americas and Asia Pacific are more likely tofavor it, with 75% and 71% respectively. Europeans, on the other hand, arewarier of the changes - 7% of them stating a reluctance to embrace travelinnovation versus 5% of Asia Pacific and 3% of Americas travelers.

Despite thefact that it is tempting to assume that younger age is a big factor when itcomes to innovation acceptance, the results of this survey prove the opposite.Only Asia Pacific millennials score higher: 79% versus 75% of Generation X and60% of boomers. In the Americas, Gen X travelers lead the way (78%), followedby millennials (76%) and boomers (70%), and in Europe millennials rank last at64% after the two other generations at 67% each.

"Technologicalinnovation is the future, and frequent business travelers are alreadybenefitting from its potential," said Andrew Jordan, CWT's Chief Productand Technology Officer. "Business travelers are people working away fromhome - so why wouldn't they want to embrace innovations that make theirjourneys and their lives easier?"

Top 3Devices While Traveling
When traveling for business, the top three most important devices to bringalong, according to the research, are cell phones (81%), computers (52%), andportable battery chargers (41%). Portable battery chargers have beenincreasingly favored by travelers since 2017 and have taken over the essentialthird place from tablets. In 2017, only 23% of global travelers carried thesechargers. Tablets have dropped on the packing list from 37% (2017) to 32%(2019).

Smartphonesare named among the three most important devices to bring along by 86% oftravelers from the Americas, 83% of travelers from Asia Pacific, and 73% ofEuropeans. Again, Americas travelers score highest when it comes to computers:59%, but Europeans (51%) overtake travelers from Asia Pacific (48%). The latterare most concerned about running out of power while on the road, with 49% ofthem bringing portable battery chargers versus 36% of Americas and 34% ofEurope travelers.

"Stayingconnected on the road is not a luxury anymore, it is essential requirement,with the number of devices being less important anymore, but rather how toguarantee travelers can be accessible and feel productive throughout theirjourney," said Jordan.

Favoritevs. Used Travel Innovation
Online check-in is both the favorite and most used travel innovation (18% and45%), followed by:

- Googleservices (16% and 42%);

- Onlinebooking tools (14% and 44%);

- Mobiletravel apps (12% and 41%);

-Fingerprints and retina scans for airport security rather than ID (8% and 16%);

- TSA(Transportation Security Administration) pre-check (6% and 16%);

- Onlinevisa requests (5% and 22%);

- GlobalEntry (5% and 13%);

-Ride-sharing (5% and 26%); and

- Hotelsand/or airports with robot or kiosk receptions (5% and 17%).

Travelersfrom Asia Pacific show the biggest statistical differences, with 18% ratingGoogle services as their favorite innovation and 50% using them; 15% favoringonline booking tools and 49% using them.

47% oftravelers from the Americas use online check-in, 43% Google services, and 41%mobile travel apps. TSA pre-check ranks the highest as their favoriteinnovation (16%).

Europeansshow the smallest statistically significant differences, with 26% of themrating online check-in as their favorite and 50% using it.

Note toeditor
Top 5 countries that embrace travel innovations the most:

1.Argentina - 85%

2. Mexico -85%

3. Brazil -83%

4. Spain -83%

5. Italy -82%

About the survey

The survey was created by CWT and conducted by Artemis Strategy Groupbetween 29 January and 9 February, 2019. Responses were collected from morethan 2,700 business travelers who traveled for business four or more times inthe previous 12 months. Respondents were from the Americas (Argentina, Brazil,Canada, Mexico, and the United States), Europe (Belgium, France, Germany,Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK), and Asia Pacific(Australia, China, India, Japan, and Singapore).

About CWT

CWT is a Business-to-Business-for-Employees (B2B4E) travel managementplatform. Companies and governments rely on us to keep their people connected -anywhere, anytime, anyhow - and across six continents, we provide theiremployees with innovative technology and an efficient, safe and secure travelexperience. Every single day, we look after enough travelers to fill more than100,000 hotel rooms, while our meetings and events division handles more than100 events every 24 hours.

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About Artemis Strategy Group