Business Travel Statistics By Spending, Travel Type and Country

Introduction

Business Travel Statistics: Even after the upsurge of the COVID-19 pandemic, business travel remains an essential aspect of growing your business. Business travel allows for the exploration of new opportunities and outlooks for those who travel. Despite various technological advancements, corporate travel trends show that there is no replacement for face-to-face interactions.

Traveling can also hold up corporate initiatives for developing skills, networking, and recruitment. Nevertheless, the introduction of COVID-19 has hurled a chock at some of those travel plans and has led to the importance of risk assessment and essential changes in future travels. We shall shed more light on Business Travel Statistics through this article.

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• The major reason for prolonging corporate trips for leisure is finding the 35% destination, followed by 31% already paying the transport cost.
• With the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless payments have become more important to business travelers, with over half of corporate travel managers prioritizing them.
• The major reasons for corporate travelers skipping or calling off air trips for consumer visits in the past years were almost 40% of the total flight time, and the risk of delay was 26% or cancellations.
• Travelers generally visit main corporate hubs to achieve their goals.
• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the corporate travel market accounted for almost $1.4 trillion in worldwide spending.
• Business travel is conducted to be productive. It increases your workers’ learning curve and offers more exposure to them and the company.
• The U.S. Travel Association states that the decrease in travel expenditures has resulted in a loss of almost $162 billion for the United States economy.
• Many travelers are now avoiding them to reduce the risk of getting sick.
• In 2022, almost 68% of companies predicted that corporate travel would return to its pre-pandemic level for a consecutive year.
• The worldwide corporate travel industry was worth $695.9 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach $2,001 by 2028, at a 13.2% CAGR between 2021 and 2028.
• According to business travel statistics, 64% of professionals state that in-person meetings are an essential part of building a good business relationship.
• About 71% of them think their travel spending will be back to normal by the end of 2023.
• According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), corporate travel made up 20% of global tourism spending in 2021.
• In 2022, corporate travelers expended almost $740 billion worldwide, with Chinese business travelers being the highest spenders.
• According to Business Travel Statistics, the worldwide market for corporate travel is not projected to recover until 2027, at which point it is predicted to rise to $829.5 billion.
• New York City is the most costly city globally, followed by Geneva, Zurich, Washington D.C., and Paris.
• Italy also emerges as a key destination with a substantial number of business travel arrivals.
• A resident of Europe spent almost 87 Euros for each night with almost one overnight stay in 2022.
• Nearly 83% of women corporate travelers have a safety issue, which indicates the need for gender-specific guidelines and sources in corporate travel safety training.

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What is Business Travel?

Thousands of employees globally engage in corporate travel each year. Corporate travel is when you hit the road or travel around the world for work-related purposes. Professionals traveling for work include complex management that can generally be extremely challenging. Business travel is conducted to be productive. It mounts your workers’ learning curve, offering more exposure to them and the company.

However, the congestion related to it makes it a hassle. This leads to attempts to ease all the aspects of business trips so that each organization can seek it as a chance.

Personal Travel vs Business Travel

Types of Business Travel

As per the corporate travel definition, professionals travel for many reasons. Related to these reasons, corporate travel can be divided into the following types:

(Source: mybiz.makemytrip.com)

• Travel for Bleisure: Bleisure travel is referred to as merging corporate travel with leisure activities. Once the business views have been met, relaxation and sightseeing can be added to the interrelating. Motivating this type of corporate trip can increase the number of professionals willing to travel for work.
• Travel for Client Meetings: Face-to-face meetings are notable for booming the deal and securing a new partner.
• Travel for Company Offsites: Different companies plan office offsites to grow their workers yearly. Group actions motivate team building and promote the company culture among each worker, resulting in the collective growth of the organization.
• Travel for Internal Inspection: Organizations with many branches generally send their professionals for internal inspection of the whole company. These professionals on corporate travel ensure that all the workers are lined up and have a unified business structure.
• Travel for Seminars, Conferences, and Events: Organizations send professionals as representatives to trade fairs, conferences, and seminars. These trips serve as networking opportunities with efficient clients and provide notable learning to the attendees.

General Business Travel Statistics

• Due to the growing worldwide business landscape, corporate trips may have become more prevalent in recent years. Therefore, millions of corporate travel initiatives are innovated every year.
• As per Certify,n.d, there are 445 million corporate trips per year.
• According to Investopedia, in 2020, corporate traveling professionals made up around 12% of an airline’s customers, but they account for around 75% of the profit.
• The ReportLinker estimates that the worldwide market for business travel will decrease by 4.5% in 2021.
• According to Business Travel Statistics, the worldwide market for corporate travel is not projected to recover until 2027, at which point it is predicted to rise to $829.5 billion.
• Corporate trips are planned for business purposes like conferences, seminars, client meetings, etc.

(Source: dreambigtravelfarblog.com)

• The above chart shows corporate travel spending forecasted to reach almost $0.9 trillion in 2022 and recover to $1.4 trillion by mid-2026.
• According to ReportLinker, the worldwide market for business travel is predicted to grow at a 3% CAGR from 2020 to 2027.
• According to the GBTA, China lost almost $404 billion in corporate travel spending because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge amount from the member nations of the Global Business Travel Association.
• The Global Business Travel Association states that the second-most affected region by the pandemic was Europe, which incurred $190.5 billion in corporate travel spending losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The third country affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. Its loss amounted to $120.2 billion.
• In Business travel statistics, almost 45% of the respondents to the survey said that their organization canceled the maximum number of international corporate tours to the United States as a reason for the pandemic.
• As per Spendesk, the United States airlines deducted around 90% of business travel in Q2 2020.
• The U.S. Travel Association states that the decrease in travel expenditures has resulted in a loss of almost $162 billion for the United States economy.
• The total overseas arrival in the United States will be lowered by around 27% in 2022.
• Because of more traveling, the demand for the hotel grew by 2%.
• As per the business travel statistics, air travel had grown by almost 10% from the previous year in April 2022.
• The United States had abided in the first quarter with almost a loss of $43 million and a bad operating margin of 0.4% because of the changes in the seasonality of the corporate level.
• The United States business is deducting expenses on travel for corporate trips by 25%.
• The segment of firm spending that is invested in corporate travel grew by 10.7%.
• In 2022, almost 43% of small or even no international travel was due to the pandemic sectors.
• Almost 45% of international corporate travel in the United States has been postponed.
• Almost 12% of the employees in the United States remained near the nation in 2022 because of some pre-pandemic factors.
• In 2022, the market size of the travel agency segment in the United States reached 48.53 billion.
• Between 2022 and 2030, the growth rate is predicted to reach a 10.3% CAGR.
• The industry size value of the United States in 2022 was $1.33 billion.

Business Travel Spending Statistics

• The median business trip cost in the United States in 2023 was $1,293, with a daily expense of $325.
• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the corporate travel market accounted for almost $1.4 trillion in worldwide spending.
• For corporate trips abroad, the median cost in 2023 was $2,600 for every traveler.
• While spending lagged in 2022 due to the recovery of the pandemic, at around $1.03 trillion, the Global Business Travel Association estimates that business travel spending will exceed the pre-pandemic level in 2024 and will continue to rise to $1.8 trillion in 2027.
• On average, the organizations spend 17% to 27% of their total traveling budget on airfare.
• According to the ACCOR Business of Travel Report, business employees predict 25% more value generated from traveling for in-person connections over virtual meetings.
• Here are the top 15 nations for business travel spending as per the Business Travel Index Outlook 2023 from the Global Business Travel Association:

• Russia is the only nation in the top ten for the GDP that does not appear on this list.
• The remaining globe combined adds $207 billion to the entire worldwide corporate travel spending.
• The chart below states the total 2022 spending around five categories as per the Global Business Travel Association.

• Lodging is the largest expended by far for business travel, as it accounted for more than two times the amount of any other category.
• According to Statista, the following table shows the total travel spending divided between leisure and business travel:

• Hotels, tourist activities, and dining make more money from leisure travelers, but many airlines generally earn a higher percentage of revenue from corporate travelers.
• According to Business Travel Statistics, more than 20% of a business’s travel budget is allotted to cover food expenses.
• The lodging makes up almost 34% of the entire cost of the business travel.
• According to Investopedia, just 12% of airlines’ customers are corporate travelers. As a result, corporate travelers pay high rates, book last minute, and are likely to fly first class. They can account for around 75% of the airline’s profits.
• Business trips account for almost 12% of the total United States airfare, which contributes almost 75% of the airlines’ profits.
• The total budget for business travel in 2023 is predicted to reach almost 98% of the levels seen.
• According to Business Travelers, 33% of international corporate travel flights are in premium class, and almost 13% of domestic corporate travel flights are in premium class.

(Source: financesonline.com)

• The above chart shows the percentage of businesses’ travel expenses: 34% on Lodging, 27% on Airfare, 20% on Meals, and 19% on Car rentals.
• Business travel is a part of the tourism industry that focuses on people who travel for work or professional reasons. This includes various services and events such as business meetings, conferences, trade shows, and exhibitions.
• Business trips can often be more costly than vacation trips. However, unlike leisure travelers, business travelers typically do not pay for their trips. Instead, their companies cover the expenses.

(Source: statista.com)

• The above chart shows that corporate travel will increase digital connectivity from 2019 to 2027.
• In 2021, Zurich was the most expensive city for business travel.
• In terms of hotel costs, two cities in the United States had the highest daily rates, exceeding $300.
• During the same period, Seoul, South Korea, was noted for having the highest daily food costs for business travelers.
• The COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 had a significant impact on the tourism sector, including business travel. Many companies had to limit their employees’ travel.
• In early 2022, 70% of surveyed respondents worldwide said that their government’s travel restrictions negatively affected their company’s performance. At that time, inconsistencies in travel policies between countries and strict travel requirements were major obstacles for international business travelers.
• Despite these challenges, most professionals in the business travel industry were optimistic about the future of this tourism segment post-pandemic.

Business Travel Statistics Through Demographics

• As per the Bureau of Transportation, males make up almost 77% of those people traveling for work.
• According to Business travel statistics, at least half of corporate travelers are aged 35 to 54.
• Almost 63% of the corporate travelers have a bachelor’s degree.
• The median corporate travelers take nearly 6.8 trips every year. This count is high for the millennials, who take a median of 7.4 trips every year.
• Around 83% of business travelers look forward to a positive experience.
• Nearly 79% of business travelers stated that traveling improves their total job satisfaction.
• Professionals traveling for business are prone to be in more advanced roles in their jobs, and professionals in leadership roles generally travel more than others.

Business Travelers by Age

• The maximum corporate travelers are in their 30s and 40s, and the employees are in the stage of working up the career ladder.
• According to market research done by Skift, the median age of corporate travelers is shifting downwards, and young employees are traveling for work.
• In the corporate travel industry, younger travelers prefer Uber rather than taxis and vacation rentals rather than hotels and are less prone to make booking decisions related to travel loyalty programs.
• As per the Bureau of Transportation Statistics report, around 77% of corporate travelers are males.
• In 2022, almost 37% of the corporate trips were made by females.
• Offices across the globe are making slower progress toward gender equality, and females will be taking more corporate trips than they ever did.
• According to Forbes’ survey, corporate travelers are more likely to be males, and the opposite is true for leisure travelers.

• Women are more prone to travel than men outside of their offices, and males are more prone to travel for their work because of the overall gender inequality in their businesses.

Work From Home and Business Travel Statistics

(Source: deloitte.com)

• The COVID-19 pandemic caused a big change in how people work. Instead of going to offices, many people started working from home.
• This happened quickly, and companies had to invest in technology to support this change. Now, lots of workers are used to not commuting to work every day.
• People working from home has made it hard for some business trips to happen.
• Sales visits and client projects often need in-person meetings, which are tricky with remote work.
• Companies are starting to plan for employees to return to the office. This was delayed in 2021 because of new COVID-19 variants. But even when people return to the office, things will be different, won’t they? Many companies will let employees keep working from home sometimes.
• A survey found that Americans work from home on average about 3.46 days a week, but they’d prefer to work from home about 3.96 days a week.
• Companies that will have most employees back in the office by the second quarter of 2022 expect to spend more money on travel again.
• About 71% of them think their travel spending will be back to normal by the end of 2023.
• However, for companies where most employees will still work from home sometimes, only about one-third think their travel spending will be back to normal by the end of 2023.
• Because of flexible working arrangements, more employees will need to travel to company headquarters. But not all companies will have more trips to headquarters. Only about one in four companies think they’ll have more trips.
• Two-thirds of these companies will pay for these trips for employees who moved away from headquarters.
• About 29% will make employees pay for most of these trips, and the rest haven’t yet decided.
• For travel companies like airlines and hotels, this could mean more business.
• Airlines might see more people flying between big business cities and places where lots of new residents moved during the pandemic.
• Hotels in good locations could attract more guests, especially if they offer amenities for long stays or for people who come back often.
• Some big companies are even making their places for employees to stay and work together comfortably.

Business Travel Statistics Post COVID-19

• Almost 53% of the trusted sales employees are in offline situations more than online.
• According to Business travel statistics, 64% of professionals state in-person meetings as an essential part of building a good business relationship.
• Roughly 25% of both small—and large-scale organizations say that they are back to pre-COVID travel sessions, and around 34% of companies witnessed a full recovery by December 2023.

(Source: deloitte.com)

• Virtually 32% of small-scale organizations said that travel budgets had returned to their pre-pandemic level, compared to 23% of large-scale organizations.
• Around 68% of organizations with less than $1 billion in yearly revenue predict their travel budgets will grow in the next year, whereas only 41% of organizations have a yearly revenue of $16 billion.
• Small-scale companies lead to the demand for business travel.
• More than half of the travel managers have planned to reduce travel budgets to make them more flexible for remote roles.
• Almost 66% of the professionals predict that the traveling policies will change permanently.
• Around 93% of the organizations aim to change remote working and meeting policies permanently.
• Sales trips are one of the big drivers, with almost 43% of companies sending their professionals on international trips for sales purposes.
• The worldwide corporate travel industry was worth $695.9 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach $2,001 by 2028, at a 13.2% CAGR between 2021 and 2028.
• Corporate travel expenses in the United States were 15% to 20% in 2019, and by 2022, almost 50% of companies are estimated to reach the 25% level.
• The worldwide market for corporate purposes has shown a recovery post-pandemic and is estimated to reach $829.5 billion.

(Source: statista.com)

• The above chart shows that United States leisure and business travel are expected to rebound strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In 2022, almost 68% of companies predicted that corporate travel would return to its pre-pandemic level for a consecutive year.
• Business travel remained low throughout the year 2021 and stood at 10% of the pre-pandemic world.
• Almost 86% of the population had to make cancellations of their plans for international corporate travel at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• As per Gates, the United States economy would lose around $167 billion every year post-pandemic.
• In 2020, Bill Gates estimated that more than half of the companies traveling and more than 30% of the days worked in the workplace would disappear forever.

Business Travel Tech Usage Statistics

• Market research shows that business travelers are quite knowledgeable about technology and want their travel experiences to be tech-friendly.
• They want apps that do everything from planning their trips to tracking their luggage. They’re also interested in using voice commands to get travel information.
• When it comes to spending money during trips, business travelers prefer using digital tools like expense management apps and cashless transactions. These help them keep track of their spending and stick to their budgets.
• With the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless payments have become more important to business travelers, with over half of corporate travel managers prioritizing them. Additionally, mobile devices will soon be the primary way to pay for business trip expenses.
• Although ride-sharing apps were once popular among business travelers, their usage has dropped significantly due to the pandemic.
• Many travelers are now avoiding them to reduce the risk of getting sick.
• Business travelers are also interested in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to help them visualize their destinations before traveling. They expect hotels to adopt VR for check-in processes and accommodations shortly.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) is another technology shaping business travel. Corporate travel managers find AI very useful for various tasks, including monitoring employees and providing travel suggestions. Many travelers are also open to GPS tracking for monitoring during trips.
• Overall, business travelers are driving demand for innovative technology and digital solutions to enhance their travel experiences.

Corporate Travel Policies

• Almost 86% of professionals report that an uncertain economy has affected their organization’s business travel to date.
• In 2023, around 83% of the executives view company travel as essential.
• Almost 38% of employees think that business travel is essential for staying ahead of the latest trends, innovations, and techniques.
• A notable 62% of worldwide corporate travelers believe that they have lacked equal corporate travel opportunities to their colleagues, regardless of age, accent, or gender.
• Roughly 35% of the professionals feel a deducted corporate travel hampers their company’s competitive border.
• Around 46% of business executives cite essential relations as the major factor in consenting to travel for client visits.

• The budget policies in the organization or department, which are around 36.5%, are the leading sections for restricting corporate travel.
• The major reasons for corporate travelers skipping or calling off air trips for consumer visits in the past years were almost 40% of the total flight time, and the risk of delay was 26% or cancellations.
• 75% of the maximum executives favor the professionals that extend corporate trips for leisure, with almost 86% of the countersigning remote work from anywhere.
• Almost 45% of corporate travelers add almost one leisure night to their corporate trip.

(Source: deloitte.com)

• The major reason for prolonging corporate trips for leisure is finding the 35% destination, followed by 31% already paying the transport cost.
• Around 66% of corporate travelers globally get a corporate credit card from the organization.
• Around 64% of corporate travelers with a corporate card already add it to their mobile wallet.
• Around 91% of corporate travelers will say no to the assigned trip if it clashes with their values, preferences, and needs.

Europe Corporate Travel Statistics

• In 2022, European residents made around 1.08 billion tourism trips with a minimum one-night stay, which indicated a 23% increase compared to the previous year.
• The maximum number of trips in 2022 were planned for personal reasons, and the rest, 100 million, were corporate or official trips.
• Both the personal and corporate sectors grew from last year, with a 43% increase in corporate trips and a 21% increase in trips for personal reasons.
• Even though the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery was much faster for personal travelers, with -4%, than for business travelers, with around -20%.

(Reference: ec.europa.eu)

• Compared with the data in 2013, travel trips for personal use have increased by 6%, whereas corporate trips have decreased by 15%.
• A resident of Europe spent almost 87 Euros for each night with almost one overnight stay in 2022.
• This represents a 30% growth compared to 2021 when they used to spend 67 Euros per night.
• The revenue was almost 4% higher in 2022, and before COVID-19, it was 31% higher than 2in 013.

(Reference: ec.europa.eu)

• In 2022, each night, the visitors from Luxembourg spent a maximum revenue of 175 Euros,154 Euros for Austrian tourists, and 128 Euros for Estonian tourists.
• 44 Euros by travelers from Poland, 45 Euros from Greece, and 46 Euros from Czechia.

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Business Travel Destinations Facts and Figures

• Market research shows that France, Spain, and the United States are the leading destinations for international tourism, which includes a significant amount of business travel.
• Hawaii, Massachusetts, and California are the most expensive states for domestic business travel within the United States.
• These destinations require higher budgets due to their costly accommodations, meals, and transportation.
• New York City is the priciest city for business travelers, with an average daily cost of $799. Following NYC, Geneva is at $716 per day, Zurich at $661 per day, Washington D.C. at $621 per day, and Paris at $617 per day. These costs include expenses for lodging, meals, car rentals, and other necessities.
• Italy is a major player in international business travel, with nearly 15 million business travelers visiting the country in a recent year. This highlights Italy’s significance as a business hub.
• France, Spain, and the U.S. lead in international business travel, while Hawaii, Massachusetts, and California are the most expensive states in the U.S. for business trips.

Business Travel Safety Statistics

• According to the Business Travel Statistics, almost 46% of the professionals who travel for work still need a corporate travel safety plan.
• Around 73.2% of the professionals who travel are worried about delayed flights.
• Among the group of European corporate travelers researched, 53% were impacted by terrorism.
• Nearly 49% of corporate travelers were affected by the political and social clashes on their trip.
• Around 28% of the travelers have faced tropical diseases.
• As per the survey, almost 25% of corporate travelers have faced crime.
• Just 44% of the workers who were surveyed said that their manager organized travel risk awareness training.
• Nearly 83% of women corporate travelers have a safety issue, which indicates the need for gender-specific guidelines and sources in corporate travel safety training.

Conclusion

Corporate trips are an essential part of various organizations’ operations, and it is essential to stay updated on current statistics and trends. By knowing the present state of corporate travel, organizations can make elevated decisions about their travel budgets and policies. The Business Travel statistics show us that corporate travel is on the rise, with almost all organizations investing in travel for their professionals.

In addition, the use of technology is growing rapidly and has made it easy for organizations to trace and manage their travel expenditures. With the correct strategies and policies, organizations can grow their travel budgets and ensure that their workers have good experience with them.

Saisuman Revankar

Saisuman is a professional content writer specializing in health, law, and space-related articles. Her experience includes designing featured articles for websites and newsletters, as well as conducting detailed research for medical professionals and researchers. Passionate about languages since childhood, Saisuman can read, write, and speak in five different languages. Her love for languages and reading inspired her to pursue a career in writing. Saisuman holds a Master's in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources and has worked in a Human Resources firm for a year. She was previously associated with a French international company. In addition to writing, Saisuman enjoys traveling and singing classical songs in her leisure time.

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