Business travel is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels by 2024

Following the global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, leisure travel recovered more quickly as compared to business trip.

When remote working became the standard and many companies showed restraint to send their employees on non-essential travelBusiness travel has decreased significantly in 2020 and 2021. The revival of the business travel sector began in 2022, but it has hit a new obstacle. Amid an economic downturn, many companies opted for cost-cutting measures, leading to another decline in travel activity.

This is evident from a recent report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). business travel will even reach a record level in 2024. That is two years earlier than the association had initially predicted. The prediction was made in GBTA’s latest Business Travel Index Outlook report, released this week at the group’s annual convention.

The report highlights two specific findings: first, global business travel spending increased 47 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, topping $1 trillion; secondly, the projections point to further growth in expenditure within this sector by 32 percent for 2023.

Business travel spending is now forecast to surpass a staggering $1.4 trillion by 2024, having “recovered at a faster pace than expected just a year ago.” And according to BTN – Business Travel News, that amount will rise to almost $1.8 trillion by 2027.

These numbers show a significant change from the previous year’s GBTA report. At the time, the group noted that supply chain issues and inflation were holding back a real recovery in the business travel industry, and it expected it would take until 2026 for any tangible improvement.

According to research by the organization, there has been a significant upturn in business travel is the result of pent-up demand, improving global economic conditions and declining fears of recession.

“The headwinds that were expected to impact the recovery of global business travel over the past year have not materialized and that is good news,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA. “This latest forecast now points to an accelerated return to pre-pandemic spending levels, faster than expected, and future growth in the coming years. Business travel spending is an important indicator, but how travel volumes will continue to recover remains to be seen.”

However, things may not always go smoothly in the future. There are still issues that could hinder future progress. These include the increasing use of virtual meeting platforms and an emphasis on sustainability on a global scale. According to Neufang, the demand for business travel will still be there affected by remote working.

Other notable findings from the report include: Air travel accounted for $183 billion (18 percent) of total business travel spending in 2022; Accommodation spending reached $395 billion (38 percent); Food and beverage costs were $191 billion (19 percent); ground transportation accounted for $138 billion (13 percent); and miscellaneous travel expenditures totaled $121 billion.