Travel is a priority for firms which have to make business deals face-to-face, one sector commentator has claimed, which may prompt businesses to make more room for travel funding in their budgets.

Stanislas Berteloot, marketing director of travel and expense management firm KDS, explained that despite the recession, business travel was still a "necessity" as such meetings were "essential" to organisations.

However, he urged airlines to cut the costs of their business class tickets to encourage more employees to fly.

"I don’t think it’s a question of looking at how to make them more appealing, it’s a question [of] how they could be a bit cheaper and [more] affordable," Mr Berteloot stated.

Currently, the recession is causing many companies to slash their travel budgets.

According to KDS, 71 per cent of business travellers said their companies had significantly reduced their travel budgets, while 37 per cent saw cuts made over six months ago.

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