ALEXANDRIA, Virginia. — The global business travel industry continues its march toward a full recovery to 2019 pre-pandemic spending levels of US$1.4 trillion, but the timeline for a full recovery remains elusive.
In November 2021, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Business Travel Outlook Index – Annual Global Report and Forecast (BTI) predicted a surge in global business travel spending in 2022, reaching a full recovery to the pre-pandemic $1.4 trillion mark by 2024. BTI 2022published in August, pushes back the expected date of full recovery to 2025 or even 2026.
Inflation is the biggest obstacle to a full recovery. In the meetings and events sector, for example, GBTA data shows that the cost per attendee for meetings and events in 2022 is expected to be around 25% higher than in 2019, and is expected to increase by a further 7% in 2023. “To understand the headwinds that have impacted a more accelerated recovery in global business travel, one only needs to look at the headlines since the start of 2022. The factors that are impacting many sectors around the world are also expected to impact the global recovery in business travel in 2025. The projected outcome is that we will get close, but we will not reach or exceed pre-pandemic 2019 levels until 2026,” said GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang.
According to BTI’s new recovery forecast, global business travel will nearly reach pre-pandemic levels in 2025, reaching $1.39 trillion. Global spending is not expected to fully return to the $1.4 trillion mark until mid-2026, when it is expected to reach $1.47 trillion.
Despite the rising costs of hosting events, the demand for face-to-face meetings is increasing.
GBTA’s July 2022 Monthly Business Travel Recovery Report Survey We surveyed more than 400 frequent business travelers and nearly four dozen business travel budget decision-makers in four regions around the world. A significant majority of business travelers (85%) said they absolutely need to travel to achieve their business goals. More than three-quarters said they plan to travel for work more or much more in 2023 than in 2022.
Global corporate finance professionals also expressed confidence, with 84% predicting their travel spending will increase somewhat or significantly in 2023 compared to 2022.
A recently held trade show, the Affordable Shopping Destination (ASD) Market Week, owned by Emerald Holding, Inc.ASD Market Week Corp. reported strong growth across multiple dimensions following the conclusion of its August 2022 event in Las Vegas. ASD saw an increase in exhibiting companies and revenue growth compared to the August 2021 show, with an overall increase in revenue of 22% and exhibiting companies of 19%. Additionally, nearly 30,000 attendees attended the August 2022 edition of ASD Market Week and did business with more than 1,600 manufacturers, including hundreds of new suppliers exhibiting for the first time.
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“We are very encouraged by what we experienced at ASD Market Week last month, and the feedback from buyers and suppliers attending the show was overwhelmingly positive,” said Karalynn Sprouse, Emerald’s executive vice president. “Post-pandemic, we continue to see pent-up demand for in-person B2B commerce, and these growth numbers confirm that trend is strengthening.”
But growth comes with challenges. A September study by GBTA and HRS, the leading global travel and payment technology platform focused on the recovery of business travel, shows that 42% of travel managers say technology is their biggest challenge. studyIn “A New Order: Business Travel, Corporate Purchasing, and Workspaces in a Post-Pandemic World,” more than half of respondents (54%) say the acceleration of the return to business travel has happened “faster” or “much faster” than they anticipated at the beginning of the year.
Nearly four in five (77%) say they spend “more time” or “much more time” resolving traveler issues, and more than half (52%) say they take “more time” or “much more time” analyzing data.
“It’s great to see business travel coming back. The vast majority of suppliers and travel agencies continue to report an increase in bookings each month. But as the survey highlights, the evolution we’ve seen since the pandemic is driving significant change in the business travel ecosystem,” GBTA’s Neufang said. “Travel management teams are now having to address a broader range of issues beyond negotiating supplier agreements. C-suite executives are more likely to advocate for the digitization of more processes, the implementation of sustainability initiatives, and measures to improve satisfaction and safety. Leaders are adapting and taking steps to manage programs accordingly.”
Contact Suzanne Neufang at sneufang@gbta.org; Karalynn Sprouse at karalynn.sprouse@emeraldx.com