Business Travel Is Rebounding Faster Than Expected

A lot of analysis of the travel industry in the wake of the pandemic has involved its effect on the industry as a whole. Certain forms of travel that are associated with recreation — think cruise ships — have showed encouraging numbers, but what about business travel? Has the same mindset that’s led to more remote work caused a general reduction in the amount of business travel?

The short answer? Not at all. According to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council, 2024 isn’t just on track to match 2019’s level of business travel — it’s set to exceed it.

Much of this increase is driven by heightened levels of business travel in the United States and China, the two countries described as having the largest markets for business travel. Both are on pace to exceed 2019’s spending on business travel by over 13%. (That’s 13.4% for the U.S. and 13.1% for China.) The thirdmost nation on that list, Germany, is also on pace to exceed its 2019 spending, albeit by a slim 1% more.

“The benefits of travel are now no longer in doubt,” American Express Global Business CEO Paul Abbott said in a statement. “Companies around the world — many for the first time — are investing in managed business travel to grow their businesses and create winning cultures.”

If there’s an especially interesting takeaway from the report, it’s that both the U.K. and France are on a pace to set new records for business travel spending this year. World Travel & Tourism Council president Julia Simpson spoke of how this data “[highlights] the importance of international travel for businesses around the world.” The figures for 2024 are indeed impressive — and we’ll see if 2025 continues the trend.