New statistics released by Amadeus show travellers are being provided with the tools they need to manage their travel, and a majority are making use of those tools.

The results are taken from a survey of over 600 buyers of business travel from a variety of different industries and businesses, conducted between March and April 2013.

Some 59 per cent of respondents to the survey said that their corporate travellers have the opportunity to book their travel using an online self-booking tool; and 53 per cent of respondents said that more than half of their corporate bookings are made this way, rather than on the phone, over email, or face-to-face.

With the increasing provision of self-management technology for travel, Amadeus asked the corporate travel industry about what the future holds.

The survey revealed a desire for TMCs to provide more of a consultancy role to travellers, rather than simply providing a booking service.

Of the corporate travel buyers that work with a TMC, 41 per cent of respondents would like their TMC to provide increased advice about travel options and destinations, with a further 39 per cent stating that they would like increased provision from their TMC for travellers to manage their own bookings.

These findings follow an earlier piece of research conducted by Amadeus in January into the habits of the corporate traveller, showing that two thirds of business travellers are now able to book their business travel through an online booking tool.

Commenting on the findings, Rob Sinclair-Barnes, director of marketing for Amadeus UK & Ireland said: “These figures increasingly point to the evolution in the demands and desires of the corporate traveller in being able to govern their own travel agendas.

“The industry has made great inroads in providing the technology to travellers to be able to manage their own travel plans through self-booking tools.

“We anticipate that we’ve only seen the beginning of travellers’ appetites for mobile – this is just the beginning, and it will go much further.

“The most successful TMCs in the future are going to be those forward-thinking enough to anticipate their travellers’ needs – and meet them, providing the superior service and consultancy that they’re uniquely able to offer,” he concluded.