 The government ’ s response to the challenges of an increasingly global economy is to build a " strong , modern knowledge economy " , and the 2006 OEF study concludes that the UK economy is " … set to become increasingly dependent on aviation as the structure of the economy evolves . " The availability of air transport services is regarded as an important factor in facilitating business activities , with benefits being realised in sales and marketing activities , customer and supplier relationships , the ability to serve a wider market , access to emerging markets , and more efficient production . Within industry sectors that are likely to support the development of a knowledge based economy , such as pharmaceuticals , banking and finance , communication services , computer services etc . , there is conflicting evidence about a correlation between growth in a sector and that sector ’ s use of air travel , although survey results show that knowledge based services and high @-@ tech manufacturing businesses are more dependent on air transport for sales than their more traditional economy counterparts . 
