Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

With another successful year under it’s belt the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, is still ranked in the top five flower shows in the world!

The world renowned flower and garden Show will be entering its 17th year in 2012 and is regarded as the largest and most successful horticultural event in the Southern Hemisphere.

Featuring the best landscape and floral talent that Australia has to offer along side an extensive array of garden retail products, the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show is a celebration of Australian lifestyle and our great outdoors.

Staged within the world heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building and surrounding Carlton Gardens, this prestigious Show is well established in the psyche of Australians as a “must see” event.

BCD Travel Recommends New York

Where the world meets for business and pleasure

Nothing stands still in action-packed New York City. It’s a global hub of commerce and culture that never disappoints. Whether you’re planning to seal a business deal over high-end cocktails, discover a hidden-gem restaurant or enjoy one of the hundreds of cultural experiences around the city, you’ll find just what you’re looking for in the Big Apple.

Getting to and from the airport
New York has three main airports. From JFK International Airport you can take a taxi to most areas within the city for a flat rate of about US $45. Taxis to Manhattan cost $50 to $70 from Newark International Airport and $24 to $30 from LaGuardia Airport. A cheaper option is the AirTrain, available at JFK or Newark airports, which links to the subway and costs around $5. Bus services are also available from all airports.

Getting around New York
If you’re tempted to rent a car to get around the city, you may want to reconsider. Notoriously congested traffic, a scarcity of reasonably priced parking spaces and costly fines for violating parking rules make getting around by car a challenge. Easier and more cost-effective options are taxis or the subway — the latter a happy marriage of affordability and convenience.

The subway offers fast and far-reaching services throughout Manhattan and the many boroughs around the city with fares from $2.50 for a single ride. Pick up a Metrocard, which will allow you to pay for multiple trips and transfers on the subway and bus. A subway map is also helpful to navigate though the system and is readily available at stations, information kiosks or online.

For short trips between districts, walking is recommended — not only can it be quicker, but you also can take in some of the city’s greatest sights and views along the way.

Where to stay
Staying in the heart of Manhattan can be expensive but, depending on where your business takes you, it may well save you time and money in the long run. For luxury accommodation, try Hilton’s  Waldorf Astoria, 301 Park Ave., New York, NY 10022-6897, Ph: +1-212-355-3000; Andaz 5th Avenue, 485 Fifth Ave., NY 10017, Ph: +1-212-601-1234; or Millennium New York Plaza, One United Nations Plaza, 44th St., NY 10017, Ph: +1-212-758-1234.

For mid-scale properties, check out the Holiday Inn Express New York, 15 W. 45th St., NY 10036, Ph: +1-212-302-9088 or the Comfort Inn Times Square, 129 W. 46th St., NY 10036, Ph: +1-212-221-2600. If it’s budget accommodation you’re after, try the Days Inn New York City/Broadway, 215 W. 94th St., NY 10025, Ph: +1-212-866-6400.

What to see
You won’t be bored in the city that doesn’t sleep. Depending on your familiarity with the city and your sense of adventure, you may want to visit some of New York’s prominent landmarks or check out lesser-known attractions.

New York’s Museum Mile — which stretches along Fifth Avenue, from East 82nd to East 105th Streets — houses eight prominent museums, including the Guggenheim Museum at 88th Street and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which stretches from 82nd to 86th streets and contains a breathtaking collection that you could explore for a day or more.

For a 360-degree view across Manhattan, head to the iconic Empire State building and get a glimpse of skyscrapers, bridges, waterways, islands and monuments from 1,050 feet up in the air. When you’re back on the ground, explore the hidden treasures of Manhattan’s popular neighborhoods, such as Greenwich Village, the Meatpacking District, Chinatown and SoHo.

Take a stroll alongside daily commuters across the elevated pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge. Built in 1883, the suspension bridge links Manhattan to the trendy neighborhoods and restaurants of Brooklyn and is a critical piece of New York City’s history.

Back in the heart of Manhattan, head toward Central Park, first stopping at a hot dog stand or gourmet food truck for a takeout picnic to enjoy while people-watching in the 843-acre park. Not far away, you’ll find the famous bright lights and giant billboards of Times Square, the city’s thriving theater district. Catch a show on Broadway.

No trip to New York would be complete without some shopping. Pop into big-name department stores, such as Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue. Madison Avenue is full of celebrity designer shops. The fashionable area of SoHo is a posh outdoor mall with cobbled streets and loft-like spaces. For discount department store buys, head to Century 21, in the financial district, which offers racks filled with designer bargains.

Where to dine
The communal dining style at Co. revolves around a common theme—bread. The owner of Co., Jim Mahey, developed his passion for bread in Italy and brought handcrafted recipes to the big city. The menu offers a variety of toasts, soup, salads, artisanal meat and cheese selections and, of course, pizza. You’ll find it at 230 Ninth Ave., NY 10001, Ph: +1 212.243.1105, www.co-pane.com.

The raved-about Le Bernardin, headed by Chef Eric Ripert, is the place to head for outstanding fish and seafood. If you’re not sure what to pick or want to try a variety of dishes then the chef’s tasting menu is a good choice at $135 (without wine) and includes options such as ultra-rare yellowfin tuna, butter-poached lobster tail and Nebraska wagyu beef, langoustine and osetra caviar tartare. You can find it at 155 W. 51st St., NY 10019, Ph: +1 212-554-1515, www.le-bernardin.com.

If you crave a good, old-fashioned burger, then head to the granddaddy of all burger joints, Corner Bistro. The Bohemian bar has been around since the early part of the century and presents a short, simple menu. Expect an hour-long wait before you can sink your teeth into one of these burgers. Sidle up to the bar and sip a beer while you wait. You’ll find it at 331 W. 4th St., NY 10014, Ph: +1 212 242-9502, www.cornerbistrony.com.

Corporate travellers vote: best airplane food

Leisure and business travellers say Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Etihad serve the best in-flight meals, according to a survey by the University of Manchester and Unilever.

Passengers on 19 international airlines were surveyed, with each airline ranked according to the scores assigned by the leisure and corporate travellers.

Turkish Airlines scored an impressive 86% for its menu, which includes dishes such as stuffed eggplant and walnut pear tart. Singapore Airlines was second, followed by Etihad, Aer Lingus and Emirates. Qantas earned eighth place.

Australian carriers are becoming increasingly savvy with their onboard dining, with celebrity chefs commonly recruited to create and promote their menus.

Qantas had its menus re-done by Neil Perry, with first class international corporate travellers enjoying a range of sumptuous dishes including pumpkin and gorgonzola pizzette with rocket salad and seared grouper with tomato, chilli and caper sauce, sugar snaps and potatoes.

Virgin Australia hired Luke Mangan to create their domestic menu, which includes a Mediterranean vegetable wrap, gourmet beef pie and vegetarian pie. Corporate travellers flying premium economy with Virgin Atlantic have been offered Atlantic salmon fishcakes, vegetable jalfrezi with steamed rice and a Belgian white chocolate and raspberry truffle for dessert.

If you’ve ever found airplane food bland, noise might be to blame. The study shows that background noise on aircraft can decrease our ability to taste sweet and salty foods.

Shangri-La bans shark fin in all hotels worldwide

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will stop serving shark fin soup and shark fin products immediately, and will also phase out Bluefin tuna and Chilean sea bass under its Sustainable Seafood Policy.

The policy, which forms part of the Shangri-La’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, will be enforced across 72 hotels and resorts worldwide. Meetings and incentives contracts involving shark fin products, signed prior to the announcement, will be honoured. Bluefin tuna and Chilean sea bass will be off the menu by 2013.

BCD Travel said corporate travel clients were increasingly noticing and appreciating CSR initiatives undertaken by hotels, especially those clients who have CSR projects in place themselves.

Wedding dress and hamster among lost property items

Mobile phones and chargers are among the most common items left in hotel rooms by leisure and corporate travellers, according to Travelodge UK. But what else have they got in lost property?

Lots of teddy bears, in fact – 75,000 of them, all of which have been returned to their owners. But more oddly, other items included a Vera Wang wedding gown, an urn, a suitcase full of dog outfits, a hamster and around 100 Duchess of Cambridge masks.

BCD Travel recommends taking two minutes to do a quick check of all drawers and cupboards as well as the bathroom before leaving your hotel room. Most hotels will gladly send forgotten items back as soon as you have notified them.

1 billion international leisure and corporate travel trips

The World Tourism Organisation predicts international leisure and business travel will hit a peak of one billion arrivals by the end of 2012.

International travel arrivals grew 4.4% worldwide to 980 million in 2011, up from 939 million in 2010, according to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Europe was the best performer by region, with 6% growth in arrivals. By sub-region, South America achieved the highest growth with an impressive 10% gain.

With its fresh approach to business travel, BCD Travel can offer many ideas for cost effective meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) at a large range of international destinations.

Top 10 in-room movies selected by leisure and corporate travellers

More leisure and corporate travellers selected Bridesmaids, The Hangover II and Limitless over other Hollywood movie offerings during 2011, according to LodgeNet, the company that provides in-room movies to 1.6 million rooms at the Holiday Inn, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and other hotels.

After a long busy day attending meetings and incentives, you can understand corporate travellers seeking light entertainment with two big comedies in the No 1 and No 2 positions.

The top 10 movies selected by leisure and corporate travellers in 2011 were as follows:

1. Bridesmaids
2. The Hangover II
3. Limitless
4. Fast Five
5. Little Fockers
6. Just Go With It
7. The Lincoln Lawyer
8. No Strings Attached
9. Hall Pass
10. Life As We Know It

Taking the long view

How increased business in emerging markets is transforming corporate travel programs

Long-haul trips are gaining a greater share of the average travel program, adding up to potentially higher costs for your company and more need for risk management.

Until recently, most North American and European business travelers made only occasional trips to Asia or Latin America, often to seek raw materials or less expensive manufacturing labor. Now, as these emerging regions become consumer markets in their own right, a new wave of Western travelers is making such long-haul flights more frequently to sell wares and services where business is booming.

A few key numbers tell the story:

• The chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Guild of Travel Management Companies attributes last year’s 12 percent average increase in air ticket prices to a shift by customers to more long-haul trips. The GTMC says it is seeing the biggest boom in ticket sales for so-called BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. (GTMC members, including BCD Travel, handle 80 percent of business travel air reservations in the UK.)
• The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook forecast Asia as a whole to experience 7.3 percent economic growth in 2012, with China leading the way at 8.2 percent. The IMF expects emerging markets as a whole to grow 5.4 percent. Compare that to the forecast for the United States, where the IMF puts gross domestic product growth at only 1.8 percent, and Europe, where it predicts the economy will shrink by 0.5 percent.
• Aircraft manufacturer Boeing expects the long-haul trend to continue long term. It predicted annual air traffic growth within North America to be 2.3 percent through 2030. Within Europe, the company foresees 4 percent annual air traffic growth during that same timeframe. By comparison, Boeing forecast trans-Pacific traffic during those years to grow at 5.1 percent annually; flights between Europe and Asia-Pacific to expand 5.9 percent; and traffic from North America to Latin America to grow 5.4 percent.

For travel managers trying to figure out how to plan for more long-haul flights, it is important to keep the trend in perspective, says Bob Brindley, vice president for Advito, the consulting division of BCD Travel. “Economic globalization certainly has led to an increase in long-haul travel,” he says, “but it is still important to focus on total market size. There are still many more flights from the United States to London than from the United States to the whole of China.”

Nonetheless, Brindley says, corporate travel managers need to be prepared for the implications for cost management and risk management — both of which are higher on long-haul trips. He advises the following steps:

1. Look for cost-management leverage
Almost every aspect of long-haul travel implies higher costs. Not only do longer flights mean more miles, but it is much more likely that policy will allow the traveler to fly in business class. On the hotel side, long-haul trips normally involve more nights away.

However, there is a silver lining: Even if flying more long-haul trips pushes up average cost per flight across the entire travel program, it should also push down average cost per long-haul flight. “Short-haul flights are mainly in economy class, and obtaining the best fares for them is now mainly a question of spot-buying,” explains Brindley. “On long-haul, a large percentage of flights are still in business class, and that remains a very competitive market with much greater ability to negotiate corporate discounts, especially if volumes are increasing. Discounts of 20 percent to 50 percent are achievable, whereas on short-haul it is more likely to be 2 percent to 10 percent.”

2. Understand the risks
Destinations in emerging markets are not inherently riskier than those in developed ones. Most cities in the United States and Europe have districts that travelers would be wise to avoid, whereas destinations such as Shanghai have low crime rates, especially for foreigners. Instead, what increases the risk factor — for health and safety, as well as for security — is the heightened unfamiliarity, from different languages (and even alphabets) to enhanced disorientation if there is a substantial variation in time zones.

As a result, the core elements of travel risk management become even more important, including traveler tracking and alerts, emergency assistance plans and employee awareness training, which is also useful for improving relationships with customers from less familiar cultures.

“Companies need to give travelers peace of mind and fulfill corporate duty-of-care requirements,” Brindley says. “That means being able to identify where travelers are at a moment’s notice, and providing care to them from planning right through the entire trip, whether it’s pushing travel and destination alerts or reminding travelers via their mobile devices of the contact information for your approved black-car company in Beijing, right when the plane touches down.”
Lowering travel risk often means paying more, Brindley notes, but that also creates an opportunity to leverage supplier relationships. “We see that in hotel programs, for example,” he says. “Clients often stay at higher-end properties for security or familiarity reasons, and an increase in upscale stays can be a negotiating point for travel managers.”

3. Take a global view
Globalization does not only mean an increase in travel for Western companies to emerging markets, it also means more travel from and, especially, within those markets. According to Boeing, the highest growth of air traffic worldwide will be on domestic Chinese routes, expanding 7.5 percent annually through 2030. As a result, many travel managers are seeing emerging markets increasingly account for more than 20 percent of their spend, which requires more active management and consolidation into the global program. This, too, could have positive benefits, such as improving negotiating leverage with some suppliers.

The bottom line, Brindley says, is that as globalization shifts the dynamics of corporate travel, it is time for travel managers to review whether their programs can accommodate the evolving demands of expanded pools of travelers and destinations in a world that is very different from the one they had planned for just a few years ago.

Want to know more about how BCD Travel’s Solution Network is supporting travel risk management? Get started here.

Event of the month – Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

It’s simply smart corporate travel management to avoid organising business travel and meetings and incentives around the dates of major recreational events in your destination city.

With its fresh approach to business travel, BCD Travel has created an Event Calendar  which is available on the corporate travel agency’s public website to help busy executives plan their corporate travel trips.

This month, BCD Travel’s Melbourne Business Travel office recommends booking early for corporate travel on or around March 28 through to April 1, due to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

Taking place at the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, this is the largest horticultural event in the southern hemisphere and among the top five flower shows in the world.

BCD Travel’s top 5 business customs in Germany

With its fresh approach to business travel, BCD Travel recommends brushing up on local customs before attending meetings in another country. Each month we offer our top five tips for corporate travellers doing business in a particular destination – this month we look at Germany.

1. Germans are happy to do business with you based on your credentials and the strength of your company – personal relationships are not as important
2. Germans are very formal and direct, often blunt, in their business communications style. They can be very suspicious and will scrutinise the deal you are offering, with every detail coming under the microscope
3. Meetings are formal with strict adherence to agendas. When entering a room with a group, the eldest or highest ranking person enters first and men enter before women of equal age and standing. Don’t sit until invited
4. Germans like planning and every moment of their day is strictly scheduled . Book your corporate travel with plenty of room to spare around meetings, as being late could jeopardise the deal
5. If you’re invited to dinner at their home, try to cut food with your fork as often as possible, as this is interpreted as a compliment to the chef (ie the food is tender). The most common toast with wine is ‘Zum Wohl’, which means ‘good health’