Dive Brief:
- Half of travel buyers say their company will take more business trips in 2024 than they did in 2023, according to the Global Business Travel Association’s Business Travel Outlook Poll, released Wednesday.
- Some 83% of travel buyers said their company’s travel volume increased in 2023, as compared to the previous year. And two-thirds of travel buyers anticipate their companies will increase their business travel spending in 2024.
- Though the results point to a strong year for business travel, buyers also cite a slew of challenges that could negatively impact their projected trip volume, including rising travel costs, economic uncertainty and lagging corporate budgets.
Dive Insight:
GBTA’s poll collected responses from over 700 business travel professionals throughout January. Their replies reflect that global business travel “moved beyond the pandemic,” GBTA’s CEO Suzanne Neufang said in a statement.
“As companies and travelers continue to embrace the vital role of in-person connection for business, there are strong indicators for continued growth in travel volume and spending in 2024,” Neufang added.
The Americas region, in particular, could see strong business travel demand. According to the poll, more travel buyers in North America (66%) expect their employee travel to increase in 2024, compared to buyers in Europe (37%).
More than half of the professionals surveyed (57%) said they feel that it’s no longer relevant to compare industry performance for 2024 against 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
GBTA’s findings echo those from other recent forecasts anticipating a strong year for group and business travel.
A report by Knowland and Amadeus found that, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the top 20 U.S. markets saw 100% recovery in group business. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, particularly, business travel is driving a visitor boom.
And Ian Gaum, partner at hospitality-focused investment firm Newbond Holdings, previously told Hotel Dive that “primary major urban markets” in the U.S. are benefitting from a rapid recovery of group and business demand and will continue to do so this year.
