Recent headwinds are pushing recovery of global
business travel spending into 2026 – nearly two years later than
predicted
last November
.
The outlook comes from the
Global Business Travel
Association
in its 2022 GBTA Business Travel Index, released today at the GBTA
Convention in San Diego.
Last fall GBTA said spending would surge this year and
return to 2019 levels of $1.4 trillion in 2024.
Now the association says that while many COVID-related
conditions have improved, macroeconomic woes including inflation, high energy
prices, supply chain challenges and labor shortages are impacting the “timing,
trajectory and pace of business travel’s recovery, both globally and by
regions.”
Subscribe to our newsletter below
“To understand the headwinds that have
been impacting a more accelerated recovery for global business travel, all you
have to do is look at the news headlines since the beginning of 2022. The
factors impacting many industries around the world are also anticipated to
impact global business travel recovery into 2025. The forecasted result is
we’ll get close, but we won’t reach and exceed 2019’s pre-pandemic levels until
2026,” says Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA.
Total spending on business travel globally was $697 billion in
2021, 5.5% above the pandemic-era low in 2020. By 2025 GBTA estimates it will
reach $1.39 trillion – nearly the level of 2019 – and reach $1.47 trillion in
mid-2026.
GBTA’s Business Travel Index is an annual study of business travel spending and
growth covering 73 countries and 44 industries. Along with the outlook, it
includes results of surveys of global finance executives and business
travelers.
More than three-quarters of respondents say they expect to travel
for work more or much more in 2023 than they did in 2022, and 84% of senior global corporate finance professionals say
their travel spending will somewhat or significantly increase next year
compared to this year.