How confident are you feeling?

British companies are more positive about the state of the economy than many analysts suggest, according to the findings of the annual Barclaycard business travel survey.

The research canvassed over 3,000 travellers across the country and found that 44% travelled more in 2007 than they did in 2006 and 33% intend to travel more this year than last.

The majority (77%) of respondents expect to travel the same amount or more in 2008, with 36% of these citing business expansion in the UK as the main reason and 31% pointing to overseas expansion.

"Travelling on business to expand into new markets or win new business has always been an indicator of economic confidence," said Denise Leleux, director of commercial cards at Barclaycard Business. "This year's results show that confidence is still there and that businesspeople are still positive about economic and business growth."

But there are signs that spending is coming under closer scrutiny. The research found that 55% said they would fly economy class when travelling for business, compared with 46% in 2007.

Travelling on business to expand into new markets or win new business has always been an indicator of economic confidence. This year's results show that confidence is still there

In fact, over the 12-year history of the survey, business-class travel has reduced significantly. In 2001 41% of respondents said business class was their main way of travelling compared to just 11% in 2007.

Keeping with this trend to reduce costs, more business travellers are flying on low-cost airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair, which increased their marketshare from 7% to 15%, and 3% to 8% respectively.

British Airways remained the airline most used for business travel in 2007, although the farce surrounding the opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow could put that under threat in the future.

British Airways accounted for 28% of the business travel market, with bmi, KLM and Flybe all taking 6%.

Luxury accommodation is also on the decline for business travellers, with more than half (54%) choosing hotels based on value for money. And 49% said that the cost of a hotel was the sole factor when choosing accommodation.

The average chief executive flew more in 2007 than the previous year, with 2,152 miles a month against 2,000 in 2006. The most frequented business destinations were within the UK and Ireland (78%) and Europe (44%).