The global business travel industry is seen rebounding at a more accelerated rate than earlier forecasted, as the spending in the sector grows to nearly USD 1.8 trillion by 2027, being fuelled largely by favourable economic conditions.
The ‘2023 GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook-Annual Global Report and Forecast’ further revealed that the business travel spending would surpass its pre-pandemic level of USD 1.4 trillion by 2024.
The report took note of the industry’s strong gains, which were expected to continue in 2023 with a 32% projected growth for the sector.
The report, published by the Global Business Travel Association, in collaboration with Visa, also stated that two of the biggest drivers in the industry’s stabilisation would be the return of in-person meetings and events, as the pandemic becomes a thing of the past and the overall recovery of international business travel capacity and volumes.
In 2022, global business travel spending rose by 47% to reach the USD 1.03 trillion mark, with the GBTA revealing in March 2023 about the region of Middle-east and Africa (MENA) accounting for USD 23 billion or approximately 2.5% of overall spending within the sector.
In 2022, while Western Europe was the fastest-growing region globally (talking about business travel spending), North America and its Latin neighbourhood too reported significant sector growth. However, some parts of Europe are still lagging in terms of recovery, due to the ongoing Ukraine war, with Asia-Pacific emerging as the big laggard in 2022 due to the delayed reopening of the Chinese economy.
“Chinese business travel spending fell 4.6% last year, dropping China down to the second position in the business travel market in the world for the first time since 2014. However, China is expected to regain its top spot by the end of 2023 as travel restrictions lift,” the Global Business Travel Association noted.
As China was the last country to completely withdraw its harsh COVID containment rules, the development resulted in a 4.6% dip in business travel spending, resulting in the world’s second-largest economy momentarily slipping into the second spot in global business travel markets. However, GBTA now sees the country reclaim its crown by the 2023 end.
The latest GBTA forecast covered 72 countries across 44 industries, as the 15th edition of the report delved deep into forecasted global business travel spending and trends for the period 2023 to 2027.
Apart from introducing insights from 4,700 business travellers from five global regions, the findings from this GBTA survey also included average business trip spending, which stood at USD 1,018 per individual, till August 2023.
Also, 62% of the surveyed travellers blended business and leisure travel, a trend which is witnessing a notable increase from 2019.
The report also highlighted challenges like the Ukraine war, inflation and the overall tighter global financial conditions, and last but not the least, deterioration in the manufacturing sector, as factors possibly influencing the growth of the business travel market.
“Other factors that could influence the industry’s longer-term forecast include an increased focus on sustainability initiatives, widespread adoption of meeting technologies, growth in the remote workforce and the rise of blended travel,” commented a Zawya report, while decoding the GBTA report further.