Global business travel to recover sooner than expected: WTTC

Dive Brief:

• Global business travel is set to surpass pre-pandemic levels this year, with spending rising 6.2% from 2019 to a record $1.5 trillion in 2024, according to a report from the World Travel & Tourism Council. 
• The recovery, spurred by business leaders re-emphasizing the importance of face-to-face interactions, comes faster than previously predicted, according to WTTC. 
• The U.S. will lead other countries for business travel spending this year at an expected $472 billion, according to the report. Growth in business travel is predicted to continue as “companies around the world value travel and in-person connections more than ever,” Paul Abbott, American Express Global Business CEO, said in a statement.

Dive Insight:

In 2024, business travel spending in the U.S. will be 13.4% above the country’s 2019 record, WTTC projects. 

China will follow the U.S. with the largest business travel spend, expected to reach almost $211 billion, according to the report. And Germany will be next in line with $87.5 billion in business travel spending, nearly 1% more than its 2019 high. 

“After a challenging few years, business travel is not only back on track, but it is recovering much faster than expected, highlighting the importance of international travel for businesses around the world,” Julia Simpson, WTTC president and CEO, said in a statement. 

The sooner-than-anticipated recovery is the result of several factors, according to WTTC. For one, businesses have been able to reallocate more funds toward corporate travel, as economies worldwide have rebounded from the pandemic, the council shared. 

Additionally, the growth of “bleisure” has also boosted corporate travel, WTTC noted. 

Several U.S. markets including Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego and Tampa saw a full recovery in group business performance in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to research from Knowland and Amadeus. 

The resurgence of business travel in the U.S. has generated a “significant economic impact” in recent years, the Global Business Travel Association reported in June. According to the organization, for every $1 spent on business travel in 2022, $1.15 was returned to the U.S. economy as net-new gross domestic product. 

The travel and tourism industry is set to contribute a record $11.1 trillion to the global economy in 2024, WTTC forecasted earlier this year. 

Heightened business travel to markets like Dallas and Atlanta has boosted hotel performance in those cities and is driving hotel development as well, local hospitality pros shared with Hotel Dive.