Global business tourism spending was estimated to reach approximately 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, which represents a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Business travel is a branch of the tourism industry focusing on trips made for work-related purposes. Attending congresses, meetings, and trade fairs, for instance, are among the main activities related to this market. How did the COVID-19 pandemic hit domestic and international business trips? After the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, companies worldwide had to revisit their trip plans, as different restrictions adopted across the world disrupted global travel. According to a study by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the share of companies canceling most or all domestic business trips worldwide reached 38 percent as of October 2021. Meanwhile, almost eight in ten surveyed firms suspended international business travel as of the same month. Which company spent the most on booked air volume in the U.S.? As the pandemic hit the business travel market hard in 2020, it comes as no surprise that the volume of air tickets purchased by companies in the United States experienced a sharp decline due to the health crisis. While Deloitte spent over 583 million U.S. dollars on air travel in 2019, it reported an expenditure of 97 million U.S. dollars in 2020. That year, the company ranked as the second leading air travel spender in the U.S. behind Amazon.

The global business travel market was worth approximately 700 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, according to data published by Allied Market Research. This value is expected to grow by 188 percent in 2028.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic massively disrupted global travel and tourism in 2020. Countries across the globe enacted emergency measures and travel bans to curb the spread of the virus. Due to the impact of the pandemic, business tourism spending fell dramatically in 2020 over the previous year across all global regions. Overall, Asia Pacific recorded the highest figure in 2020, with spending on business trips amounting to nearly 174 billion U.S. dollars that year, dropping sharply from over 403 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Europe reported the second-highest expenditure in 2020, adding up to 152 billion U.S. dollars.

Business travel spending of tourists from United States decreased by nearly two thirds in 2020 compared to the previous year, most likely as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This tourism segment expenditures is forecast to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

In 2024, the global business travel spending increased by more than 11 percent. In the following years, it is expected that the expenditure of business tourists keeps growing, but not at the same pace. Resuming business travel after COVID-19 The global health crisis significantly affected the business travel industry, as is evident from the significant drop in business travel spending in 2020. Specifically, the predicted loss in business travel spending worldwide due to COVID-19 added up to more than 700 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. While the pandemic is gradually becoming less severe, the impact it had on the travel industry remains. As of February 2022, around one out of ten employees worldwide were still either unwilling or unsure to take business trips. Most expensive cities for business travel Studies have identified the most expensive cities when embarking on travel for business purposes. In 2020, Tokyo was the most expensive city for business travel worldwide based on daily costs. Average costs per day in the capital city of Japan amounted to 652.38 U.S. dollars in that year. Looking at the most expensive cities for business travel worldwide by daily hotel costs, however, Tel Aviv reported the highest daily prices.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic massively disrupted global travel and tourism in 2020. Countries across the globe enacted emergency measures and travel bans to curb the spread of the virus. Due to the impact of the pandemic, business tourism spending in Europe fell dramatically in 2020 over the previous year. Overall, Germany was the European country recording the highest figure in 2020, with spending on business trips amounting to 36 billion U.S. dollars that year, dropping from 66.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. The United Kingdom reported the second-highest expenditure in Europe in 2020, at over 23 billion U.S. dollars.

Domestic business travel spending in the United States reached over 260 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. This figure has seen growth since 2020 where it fell to 111 billion U.S. dollars as a result of travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Travel spending is forecast to reach almost 300 billion U.S. dollars by 2028.

In 2023, the number of domestic business person-trips in the United States increased over the previous year by more than 11 percent. It was forecast that this growth would decline year-over-year in the following five years.

The total expenses of Germans traveling for business purposes amounted to 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. This was a marked reduction compared to the previous year, when business travel expenditure reached roughly 78 billion U.S. dollars. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related travel restrictions could explain why the expenses of business travelers decreased by 61.6 percent in 2020. Meanwhile, forecasts show that the sector will recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

Around one-quarter of travel managers surveyed in the United States at the beginning of 2022 believed that the business travel spending in their company for trips to Europe would be higher in that year than in pre-pandemic times. By contrast, only seven percent of U.S. respondents expected the same regarding business trips to Africa.

In 2019 and 2020, German business tourists accounted for the largest share of business travel spending in Western Europe. By 2024, the country is expected to remain in the region's first place, with a share of a little over 21 percent over the total's expenditure of domestic and outbound tourists from Western European countries.

Brazil has positioned itself as the leading source market for business tourism in Central and South America, accounting for more than 60 percent of the region's total business travel spending in 2019. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this share dropped to a little over 50 percent in 2020 and is expected to remain around that figure in 2024.

In 2020, the United Kingdom's business travel spending was less than half of its business travel expenditure in the previous year, most likely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Figures from 2020 were the lowest reported business travel expenditure for the country since 2010. Forecasts show that the business travel market in the UK is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

Venezuelan and Brazilian business travel spending were the most affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. When compared to the total recorded in the previous year, the expenditure of business tourists from Venezuela plunged by more than 80 percent, while Brazilian business travelers' total spending dropped by more than half in 2020.

Business tourists from Italy spent roughly 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, which amounted to a 62 percent reduction in expenses compared to the previous year. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related travel restrictions can be attributed to for the dramatic drop in business travel spending in 2020. The business tourism segment is forecast to recover by 2024.

The liabilities of Global Business Travel Group, Inc. with headquarters in the United States amounted to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. The reported fiscal year ends on December 31.Compared to the earliest depicted value from 2020 this is a total increase by approximately 2.4 billion U.S. dollars. The trend from 2020 to 2023 shows, furthermore, that this increase happened continuously.

Business travelers usually made up the highest spending group in the sector of travel and tourism in Côte d'Ivoire. In 2020, business visitors generated around 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, whereas leisure spending added up to 612 million U.S. dollars. Overall, the spending decreased compared to 2019.

The operating profit of Global Business Travel Group, Inc. with headquarters in the United States amounted to -8 million U.S. dollars in 2023. The reported fiscal year ends on December 31.Compared to the earliest depicted value from 2020 this is a total increase by approximately 739 million U.S. dollars. The trend from 2020 to 2023 shows, furthermore, that this increase happened continuously.

Business tourists from Brazil spent roughly 13.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Overall, business travel expenditure in the country decreased by more than 50 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, attributable to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related travel restrictions. Forecasts expect this travel segment to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2025.

Leisure travels usually made up the highest spending category in the sector of travel and tourism in Mauritius. In 2020, leisure spending added up to over 443 million U.S. dollars, whereas business spending added up to roughly 195 million U.S. dollars. Overall, the spending decreased compared to 2019.