business tourism statistics

What are you looking for?

100+ business travel statistics (2023).

Business travelers contribute a lot to the travel industry in general.

In the US alone, 1.3 million people go on business trips every day.

Although the industry was forced to a slowdown due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic , the business travel market is expected to grow by 188% in 2028.

Today, I’ve summarized everything from the average business travel spending to employee behaviour towards corporate travel.

Whether you’re going on a trip for work or something else, we hope you might find these statistics useful!

Let’s get started…

Sources : You can see the source of every statistics or go to the bottom of this post for a full list of all the surveys and articles used here.

Travellerspoint

What is considered business travel?

Business travel includes any domestic or international trip taken by employees in order to complete corporate-related events. For example, meetings, client works, trade shows, conferences, and product launches.

Business travel spending generally comprises all aspects of the trip, from accommodation and transportation to entertainment.

How many people in the US travel for business?

In the US alone , 1.3 million people travel for business daily.

How big is the business travel market?

The global business travel market was worth $700 billion in 2020.

What percentage of travel is business vs leisure?

In 2021, business travel accounted for 20% of the total global travel and tourism expenditure.

Is the business travel industry growing?

Yes, the business travel market is predicted to grow by 188% in 2028.

Business Travel Key Statistics

• 92% of these countries also called off all or most of their domestic business tours in April 2020.
• The global business travel market was worth $700 billion in 2020. 
• By 2028, the business travel market is predicted to grow by 188%.
• Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the loss in global business travel spending reached over $700 billion in 2020.
• Accommodation makes up 34% of the average business trip cost, while airfare makes up 27%, meals 20% and car rental 19%.
• The average business traveler is male (63%) and aged between 35 and 54 year old (50%).
• In 2021, the United States and Canada both ranked as the best-rated destinations for business and non-leisure travellers.
• 56% of business travelers state that lowering their carbon footprint is a moderate priority, whereas 21% believe that it’s a top priority. 
• The share of companies canceling most or all domestic business trips worldwide reached 38% as of October 2021.
• 35.2% of travels buyers believe that travel digitization will increase after the COVID-19 pandemic.

General business tourism statistics

1. although business travelers only comprise 12% of all airline passengers, they contribute up to 75% of profits..

[Investopedia]

This is because corporate travelers tend to pay a higher rate for last-minute and non-stop options.

2. In April 2020, 98% of the member countries of the Global Business Travel Association had to cancel overseas business trips.

[ReportLinker]

3. 92% of these countries also called off all or most of their domestic business tours.

4. nearly all business travel bookings are made online, with 28% of hotel bookings made from the hotel’s website, 14% through a travel agent, 10% from an online travel agency (ota), and 7% through a third-party..

[StratosJets]

Around the world, 57% of all travel bookings are made online .

5. In the US alone, 1.3 million people travel for business daily.

Global business travel market, 6. the global business travel market was worth $700 billion in 2020. , 7. in 2028, the business travel market is predicted to grow by 188%., 8. the global business travel market is estimated to reach $829.5 billion by 2027 at a cagr of 3% over seven years..

The travel market is one of the hardest hit industries in the world by the Coronavirus pandemic. It has begun to recover, albeit slowly, and is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels in roughly seven years.

9. Food & lodging takes up the largest segment in business travel, projected to grow at a 3.7% CAGR and hit $446.6 billion by the end of 2027.

10. the business travel market in the united states was estimated to be worth approximately $243.2 billion in 2020., 11. the chinese business travel market is predicted to grow at a 5.1% cagr until it reaches $49.8 billion in 2027..

China has the second largest economy in the world. It’s forecast to achieve a market size of$49.8 billion by 2027.

12. Japan and Canada’s business travel market are predicted to grow at a rate of 2.2% and 3.1% respectively between 2020 and 2027.

13. meanwhile, germany will grow with a cagr of 2.4% over the same period of 2020-2027. , 14. the asia-pacific region is calculated to reach $114.9 billion market share by 2027, with the notable economies being australia, india, and south korea., 15. in the transportation segment of business travel, us, canada, japan, china and europe is expected to drive the 1.4% cagr, reaching a combined $101.9 billion by 2027., 16. the latin american transportation market of business travel will grow at a 1.8% cagr., business travel spending.

How much are the average business travel expenses?

17. In 2021, business travel accounted for 20% of the total global travel and tourism expenditure, a 1% decrease from 2019.

18. Business travel expenditure peaked at approximately $1.4 trillion in 2019.

Overall, business travel includes work-related trips such as attending meetings, trade fairs, and congresses.

19. Business travel spending is forecasted to reach $0.9 trillion in 2022, and recover to the all-time high of $1.4 trillion by mid-2026.

20. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the loss in global business travel spending reached over $700 billion in 2020.

21. global business travel spending is expected to gain 33.8% in 2022., 22. china recorded the world's highest business travel spending in 2021, at almost $295 billion..

The country spending the second highest amount in business travel was United States, at just over half of China’s spending.

23. However, China was also the country that experienced the biggest loss in business travel expenditure ($404 billion) due to the pandemic.

24. europe was the second most impacted region, losing $190.5 billion collectively..

Europe experienced a $190.5 billion loss in business travel during the pandemic.

25. The Asia-Pacific region (not counting China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) lost $120.2 billion in business travel spending.

26. in terms of business travel spending recovery, north american performed best in 2021, all thanks to the rapid regaining of domestic travel. it’s expected to experience a compounded annual growth of 23.4% by 2026., 27. for 2022, there was an increase of 16.5% ($407.1 billion) in the asia pacific region, recovering to 66% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year., 28. accommodation makes up 34% of the average business trip cost, while airfare makes up 27%, meals 20% and car rental 19%..

[Travel Pulse]

29. In general, January and March and September to October are the most expensive times to travel.

Demographics of business travelers.

Who is the average business traveler?

30. The average business traveler is male (63%) and aged between 35 and 54 year old (50%).

A recent survey has revealed that only 37% of business travelers are female .

31. Over half (56%) of business travelers are employed in a professional or managerial position.

32. business travelers make an average of $127,000 per year., 33. 66% of business travelers hold a bachelors’ degree., 34. a majority of business travelers, or 78%, travel alone on corporate trips..

Business travelers contribute to the rising number of solo travellers. In fact, 78% of them travel alone for business .

35. Nearly all (95%) business travelers will make reservations for their trip.

Top business travel destinations.

Where do people travel the most for business?

36. In 2021, the United States and Canada both ranked as the best-rated destinations for business and non-leisure travellers, each obtaining 6.4 in scores.

The scoring system is based on the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI), on a scale from 1 (worst) to 7 (best).

Canada scored 6.4 in 2021 , ranking itself as one of two best-rated business and non-leisure travel destinations in the world.

37. They’re followed by Japan (6.2), China (6), and the UK (5.7), rounding up the top 5 business travel destinations.

UK remains as the fifth highest-rated destination for business travelers.

38. The main country destination for business meetings in 2021 was the United States (500 association events).

39. spain and japan, each with more than 360 events in 2021, ranked as the top second and third country destination for business meetings., 40. the us is also the country with the most conferences, business meetings, and trade shows planned between may 2022 and april 2023, with 33 thousand listed events., 41. the united kingdom has the second highest number of events planned for that period, with 6.4 thousand events listed across all industries., 42. in q4 2021, zurich was the most expensive city for business tourism, averaging $593 in daily cost..

Out of the top ten most expensive business travel destinations, three are Swiss cities, which shows just how expensive the country can be.

43. In Tokyo, the average daily cost for business travel is $517.

44. in terms of hotel cost, the most expensive business destination is new york, where a hotel room costs on average $376 per night..

With hotels having an average daily rate of $376 , New York is the most expensive destination for business trips.

45. Europe is expected to recover the most for US-originating trips in 2022. 25% of travelers say that they expect to take the same amount, if not more, business trips to Europe.

Purposes for business travel.

What is an example of business travel?

46. 43% of respondents in a survey say that sales visits are in the top two reasons for making international business trips in 2022.

47. the next driving reasons for international business trips in 2022 are leadership meetings (32%) and client-based projects (31%)., 48. surprisingly, conferences are only ranked as the top two reasons for sending employees overseas by 15% of respondents., employee perks and opinions in business travel, 49. 28% of employees who travel for work report that travel experience or satisfaction is the biggest pain point of their company’s travel program. , 50. meanwhile, only 13% of travel managers state that travel experience or satisfaction is the single greatest strength., 51. 41% of business travelers claim that cost savings outweigh employee satisfaction in their corporate travel program. 38% say that both factors are balanced, while 21% state that employee satisfaction is prioritized over cost efficiency., 52. 38% of business travelers are the least satisfied with the travel technology of their company., 53. the most desired perk by business travelers is the freedom to book with their favorite travel suppliers (46%)., 54. at 43%, the second most desired business travel perk is the permission to stay an extra night after the end of work meetings., 55. 39% of business travelers would like the ability to book their travels outside of the corporate travel agency., 56. 39% expressed a desire for companies to pay for leisure experiences during business trips., 57. however, a majority of travel managers (84%) state that their company would not consider offering bleisure options., 58. for 83% of employees, business travel is considered a job perk., 59. 79% of employees also say that the ability to travel affects job satisfaction., 60. 60% of job applicants report that a company’s travel policy influences their decision when considering an employer., 61. moreover, nearly 2 out of 5 millennial employees won’t accept a job that doesn't allow them to travel..

Almost 2 in 5 millennial employees will not accept jobs that don't allow them to travel.

Sustainability in business travel

62. 56% of business travelers state that lowering their carbon footprint is a moderate priority, whereas 21% believe that it’s a top priority. , 63. a majority of business travelers are willing to forego daily hotel cleaning (77%) to reduce carbon footprint., 64. to support the effort of reducing carbon footprint, most are also willing to use smaller cars (73%), fly premium less frequently (68%), travel less for work (63%), and take longer business trips at a time (56%)..

65. By 2025, 30% of companies expect sustainability to cause a 11% to 25% cutback in travel budgets.

Sustainability remains a priority for most companies, but they also expect that it will cause corporate travel spending to decrease.

Hotels and accommodation in business travel

66. in 2019, meetings and conferences made up 18% of hotel gross bookings..

This data was based on a 2020 Phocuswright study.

67. In a 2015 survey, business travelers comprise 40% of hotel guests.

68. In 2015, hotels generated $141.5 billion in business travel tax revenue alone.

69. corporate booking tools heavily rely on hotels as accommodation. only 9% offer alternative lodging., 70. almost half of companies surveyed in 2022 don’t offer nonhotel lodging reimbursement for their employees..

71. 12% of travel managers have succeeded in adding clauses that specify the availability of amenities for business events in hotels.

72. meanwhile, 10% of travel managers have considered adding such clauses, although they haven’t been successful in implementing them., 73. when airbnb for work launched as airbnb for business in 2014, their bookings tripled from 2015 to 2016..

[PhocusWire]

74. Then again, Airbnb for business bookings tripled from 2016 and 2017, while the number of companies using the platform hit 700,000 in 2017, almost double from the previous year.

In fact, Airbnb for Business was one of the top fastest-growing businesses within the company.

75. Out of the 60% of Airbnb for Work bookings with more than one guest, 40% of them have three or more guests.

This indicates a growing interest in collaborative business trips.

Business travel technology and accessibility

76. only 26% of travel managers claim that their corporate travel booking tool does a good job in accommodating employees with accessibility needs. , 77. meanwhile, a significant percentage of travel managers (37%) are not sure how well their company’s booking tool assists employees with accessibility needs. , 78. 78% of business travelers would like to see personalized search results based on previous purchases and travel loyalty status (78%)., 79. the same percentage (78%) is also interested in the ability to book multiple types of ground transportation., 80. moreover, 70% is interested in integrated access to risk intelligence information. this includes covid-19 infections and crime statistics in the local area..

This shows just how ready business travelers are for new booking-related innovations that can make the business travel experience more seamless.

Challenges and opportunities in business travel

What is the outlook of business travel?

81. 85% of business travelers stated that they need to travel to accomplish their business goals. 

This was based on a GBTA survey in July 2022 of more than 400 frequent business travellers and nearly 48 decision makers.

82. More than 75% expect to make more business trips in 2023 than they did in 2022. 

83.  84% of senior global corporate finance professionals are confident that travel spending would increase in 2023., 84. 73% of business travelers agree that inflation will impact business travel volumes in the future., 85. 69% of business travelers and 75% of global financial executives are worried that a possible recession will affect business travel., 86. most business travelers are ready to travel for work as much as they did before the pandemic. a total of 81% prefer to take the same amount (46%) or more (35%) business trips., 87. compared to wfh-dominant companies, those that implement more wfo policies are twice as likely to expect travel spending to recover to 2019 levels by the end of 2023., 88. over 30% of airbnb for work bookings include at least one weekend night, which shows that leisure is still common., covid-19 impact on business travel.

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect business travel?

89. The share of companies canceling most or all domestic business trips worldwide reached 38% as of October 2021.

According to the Global Business Travel Association, 38% of companies canceled most or all domestic business trips in October 2021.

90. In that same month, nearly eight in ten firms delayed international business travel.

91. business travel failed to meet expectations in the second half of 2021, with approximately 33% of travel managers expecting to hit half of their 2019 spending in june 2021, but only 8% managing to reach that goal., 92. in 2021, business travel spending worldwide recovered by just 5.5% after having plummeted by over 50% in the previous year due to the coronavirus pandemic. , 93. 70% of providers and buyers of business travel services stated covid-19 travel restrictions hurt their business outcomes..

This data was gathered from a global survey in February 2022.

94. As a concrete example, Deloitte spent more than $583 million on air travel in 2019, but only $97 million in 2020.

This figure is surprising because Deloitte was the second leading air travel spender in the United States.

95. 58% of travel managers around the world expected that hotel prices would plummet during the Covid-19 pandemic.

96. 35.2% of travels buyers believe that travel digitization will increase after the covid-19 pandemic., 97. 72% of organizations are keeping online and hybrid meetings even after the pandemic ends., 98. as of february 2022, around 10% of employees across the globe were still unwilling or unsure to take business trips., 99. while pandemic-related concerns in corporate travel have fallen in 2022, increasing travel prices remain a huge barrier., 100. overall, the 2022 gbta business travel index concludes that the biggest challenges to faster recovery in global business travel include inflation, high energy prices, and labor shortages., 101.  the economic slowdown in china and rising sustainability problems are also two major factors in the slow recovery of business travel worldwide..

That’s all about business travel for now!

We’ve learned the outlook of business travel, which despite being impeded by the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to recover and grow.

Do you think we missed any important aspect about business travel?

Leave us a comment below!

Check out these other statistics:

• Digital Nomad Statistics
• Family Travel & Tourism Statistics
• France Travel & Tourism Statistics
• RV Industry Statistics
• Investopedia
• ReportLinker
• StratosJets
• Travel Pulse

Leave a comment

Let us know what you think.

5 million people can't be wrong

• SOFTWARE CATEGORIES
• FOR REMOTE WORK
• Research Center

105 Critical Business Travel Statistics: 2024 Spending & Concerns Analysis

Technology may have opened up new ways for individuals to connect, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic where face-to-face communication can become a health risk. This is why business travel remains important for modern companies. If you want to make the most out of your corporate trips, being knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the industry is important. This is where checking business travel statistics becomes necessary.

In this article, we will be discussing everything from the market size of the business travel industry to the use of budgeting software for corporate travel. Furthermore, we have provided some data on emerging business travel technologies. This way, it would be easier to understand how to manage your company trips better as well as prepare yourself for the shifting demands of the industry. 

Business Travel Statistics Table of Contents

• General Business Travel Statistics
• Business Travel Spending Statistics
• Statistics on Business Travel Benefits
• Business Travel Experience Statistics
• Bleisure Statistics
• Statistics on the Modern Business Traveler
• Business Travel Policy Statistics
• Statistics on Business Travel Concerns
• Business Travel Tech Usage Statistics
• Impact of COVID-19 on Business Travel

1. General Business Travel Statistics

Corporate trips may have become more and more prevalent over the years, thanks to the increasingly globalized business landscape. So much so that millions of business travel initiatives are launched each year. However, with the current pandemic, business travel has come to a halt and it is not expected to recover until 2027.

• There are 445 million business trips every year. (Certify, n. d.)
• Business travelers make up 12% of an airline’s passengers, but they represent 75% of the profit. (Investopedia, 2020)
• The global market for business travel is projected to decline by 4.5% in 2021. (ReportLinker, 2020)
• It won’t be until 2027 that the global market for business travel is expected to recover, at which point it is expected to reach US$829.5 billion. (ReportLinker, 2020)
• The global market for business travel is expected to post a CAGR of 3% from 2020 to 2027. (ReportLinker, 2020)

Breakdown of Corporate Travel Across the Globe

Companies across the globe understand how important it is to invest in corporate travel. With companies spending an average of $799 per person per day, the business travel market has surely enjoyed the growth in revenue in the past years. Unfortunately, however, when the pandemic hit, many countries experienced huge losses in business travel spending.

• China lost $404 billion in business travel spend losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest amount among member countries of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). (GBTA, 2020)
• The second most affected region was Europe, which amassed $190.5 billion in business travel spend losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The third most affected region was Asia-Pacific, excluding China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, with losses amounting to $120.2 billion. (GBTA, 2020)
• The most expensive business travel location in Asia is Hong Kong, with an average cost of $515 per day. (ECA International, 2019)

Business Trips in the US

American companies are one of the top spenders when it comes to business travel. Simply put, many US companies spend to send their employees on domestic and international trips for business purposes. However, much like the rest of the globe, they are also expected to decrease the number of international business trips in the coming years.

• In a survey, 45% of respondents said that their company canceled most international business trips to the U.S. as a result of the pandemic. (GBTA Coronavirus Poll/Statista, 2020)
• U.S. airlines reported a 90% reduction in business travel in Q2 2020. (Spendesk, 2019)
• The reduction in travel spending resulted in a loss of $162 billion for the U.S. economy in 2020. (U.S. Travel Association, 2020)

2. Business Travel Spending Statistics

It’s no secret that corporate travel is expensive. As you’ll see in the data below, companies spend millions of dollars per year on sending their employees on business trips. To ensure steady business travel funding, you should plan and create a budget for it ahead of time, taking into consideration not only accommodation and airfare but also looking into vaccination expenses for employees. This way, they may avoid the risk of contracting coronavirus while they’re traveling. Moreover, you should keep all travel costs in check. For this, you might find that using tools for budgeting can be useful for your company.

• Global business travel decreased by more than half in 2020 to $694 billion. (PhocusWire, 2021)
• Corporate travel spending is expected to lose $820 billion as a result of the pandemic. (CNBC, 2020)
• As of September 2020, China’s number of domestic passengers reached Corporate travel spending 98% of 2019 levels. (Skift, 2020)
• The average daily cost of business travel in the US is $325 per day. (Small Biz Genius, 2021)
• Businesses spend roughly $1,425 for every employee they send on a business trip. (Fyle, 2020)
• Companies spend $111.7 billion on business travel every year. This is an average of $1,286 per work trip. (Travel Pulse, 2020)
• Businesses spend $31.6 billion on international travel. This is an average of $2,600 per person. (Certify)
• The average business travel budget consists of money for lodging (34%), airfare (27%), meals (20%), and car rentals (19%). (Travel Pulse, 2020)

Air Travel Expenditures

If your company is affiliated with businesses located halfway across the globe or on the other side of the country, then spending on air travel is inevitable. So, you should prepare a good chunk of your budget for airfares, especially considering flight tickets and miscellaneous spending at airports are increasingly expensive. You might also want to time your booking so you can get tickets at lower rates.

• The average domestic airfare in the US is $392. (Business Insider, 2019)
• The average cost of coach airfare for international flights is $1216. (Certify)
• Domestic flights in the U.S. are 41% lower on average because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNBC, 2020)
• Booking flights 169 to 319 days in advance allows you to fly at the time you prefer and get the seats that you want. (CheapAir, 2018)
• The prime booking window is 21 to 121 days in advance of your preferred flight. The fares are the lowest during this time. (CheapAir, 2018)
• The most costly airports based on lunch, taxi, executive lounge, and parking expenses are London Stansted (£608.29), Amsterdam (£567.35), and London Gatwick (£520.53). (FairFX Blog, 2018)
• The airports that give business travelers the most value for their money based on lunch, taxi, executive lounge, and parking expenses are Barcelona (£236.36), Belfast International (£228.28), and Beijing (£170,03). (FairFX Blog, 2018)
• 70% of corporate travelers said that their most important consideration in booking airline tickets after COVID-19 is flexibility in cancellation and changing ticket conditions. This is followed by special measures to ensure onboard hygiene (63%), availability of direct flights (61%), and sanitation levels of aircraft between flights. (Skift Research & McKinsey, 2020)

Road Transportation Costs

More often than not, business travelers still need to go from one place to another upon reaching their destinations. So, it makes sense for them to spend on road transportation. For domestic trips just outside of the city, this might involve gas money for their personal vehicles. In case they have to go farther away, they will need to allocate a budget for car rental. There might also be those who opt to use ride-sharing applications during the trip, although this may not be as popular an option amid the pandemic.

• Three-fourths of business trips are less than 250 miles from the point of their departure. (U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2017)
• Personal cars are often utilized for 81% of business trips. (U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2017)
• New demand for road trip travel has led car rental rates in the U.S. to decrease by approximately 15% in 2020. (CheapCarRental, 2020)
• 65% of users stopped using ridesharing services in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Statista, 2020)

Accommodation and Other Expenses

Business travelers require accommodations that are affordable, secure, and trustworthy. What’s more, staying at a place where they have access to conveniences such as workstations and free WiFi can ensure their productivity while on the go. Plus, with the current pandemic, it is also important to consider what hygiene protocols your intended accommodation implements to ensure the safety of your employees. This is why many companies are willing to spend more on hotel rooms and Airbnb accommodations.

• 40% of hotel guests are business travelers. (American Hotel & Lodging Corporation, 2015)
• In 2020, the average hotel room price dropped significantly by 32% to $186 per night compared to $274 per night in 2019. (NerdWallet, 2020)
• Tech companies prefer Airbnb accommodations. In fact, their bookings have doubled from 2017 to 2018. (TravelPerk)
• In 2018, more than 700,000 businesses utilized Airbnb for Work for their corporate trips. (PhocusWire, 2018)
• For the fiscal year 2020, the IRS has set the per-diem business travel rates for meals and incidental expenses at $71. (Maxwell, Locke & Ritter, 2020)
• When it comes to accommodations, business travelers pay attention to quality (44%), trustworthiness (38%), convenience (40%), quietness (30%), affordability (28%), and coziness (28%). (CWT Research, 2019)

How do businesses spend on travel?

A breakdown of the average corporate trip budget.

Car rentals

Source: Travel Pulse

Top Budgeting Software

• Freshbooks. This budgeting and accounting software is popular among businesses of all sizes. Learn more about its features like expense tracking, automatic vendor profile creation, sales tax, project overviews, and many more here in our Freshbooks review .
• Sage 50cloud. As a top accounting and budgeting platform, it sports important features such as billing, invoicing, contact management, budgeting, and even forecasting tools. Read about how users leverage this top platform for their business here in our Sage 50cloud review .
• Quickbooks Enterprise.  This comprehensive accounting platform is equipped with inventory management, advanced reporting, and FSM to help you budget for projects, operations, or new investments. Learn more about this product in this Quickbooks Enterprise review .
• Xero. This is a popular accounting app designed for freelancers and small businesses. See how its easy-to-use interface is packed with comprehensive and robust features here in our Xero review .
• FreeAgent. This powerful online budgeting and accounting tool sports tax management, invoice management, expense management, and payment gateway integrations. See why freelancers and small businesses love this platform here in our FreeAgent review .

3. Statistics on Business Travel Benefits

Many companies may think that business travel is passé or that it is a waste of money. However, statistics show that this is most certainly not the case. Corporate trips actually allow businesses to foster stronger and more close-knit relationships with potential clients and partners. Thus, they yield a good ROI for their business travel initiatives and even grow their company at a faster pace. In addition, even amid a pandemic, many professionals cite business travel as a job perk.

• 90.6% of corporate travel managers believe that business travel is crucial to company growth. (Skift + TripActions Business Travel Survey, 2019)
• On the other hand, 91.3% of business travelers said that business travel is crucial to company growth. (Skift + TripActions Business Travel Survey, 2019)
• Companies get a $2.90 increase in profit and a $9.50 increase in revenue for every dollar spent on corporate travel. (Certify)
• 79% of employees say that business travel experience has an impact on their overall job satisfaction. (Global Business Travel Association, 2017)
• 83% of employees say that business travel is a job perk. (Stratos Jet Charters, Inc., 2020)

4. Business Travel Experience Statistics

Corporate travelers are consumers. So, in a similar light as your typical shopper, they expect personalized experiences when it comes to traveling. In fact, they are more than willing to provide their preferences and personal information if it means travel agencies and airline companies will provide them with better products and services. In addition to these, modern business travelers also don’t mind paying extra out of their pocket for upgrades on accommodations and transportation.

• Nine in 10 corporate travelers will share their travel preferences for a customized experience. (CWT Research, 2019)
• 65% of travelers are willing to provide additional personal information to accelerate processing at the airport. (International Air Transport Association, 2018)
• 22% of frequent travelers want travel companies to remember their personal data. (Accenture, 2017)
• 67% of modern travelers expect brands to help them make good travel decisions based on previous travel information. (Accenture, 2017)
• 55% of business travelers are willing to pay out of their own pocket to get upgrades for accommodations, car rentals, and airline seats. (AeroLatinNews, 2018)

Improving the Experience of Corporate Travelers

Business travel may not be as prevalent now. But this pause makes it the perfect time to ask, how can you improve the overall business travel experience? Now that we know corporate travel anchors on personalization and convenience, it is important to utilize the available technologies to enhance the travel management process.

Moreover, travel managers should actively measure the satisfaction of business travelers to determine any other points for improvement. To do this, you might want to consider utilizing best-in-class business intelligence platforms or top-rated data analytics software .

• Travelers say that their experience can be improved using real-time and accurate travel notifications (55%) and automatic flight rebooking (53%). (International Air Transport Association, 2019)
• A business travel report revealed that 79% of business travel managers say that partnering with travel management companies can lead to more efficient processes and higher savings. (Egencia, 2018)
• 80% of corporate travel managers say that having a system of measurement can benefit corporate travel initiatives. (ACTE, 2018)
• 98% of corporate travel managers say that the most important metrics to measure are traveler satisfaction, policy compliance, and savings and expenditures. These are followed by booking statistics (96%) and traveler engagement (90%). (ACTE, 2018)

Points for Improvement for Airlines, According to Passengers

5. bleisure statistics.

“Work hard, play hard” is the mantra of modern businessmen and corporate employees. So, before 2020, it was not surprising that employees have made it a point to extend their trip for leisure or, at the very least, allocate time for fun activities during a trip. While this may not be a possibility with the ongoing pandemic, it is certainly a trend that companies should anticipate as travel restrictions and quarantine protocols relax. After all, it will allow your company to reinforce work-life balance for employees.

One thing to note about bleisure, however, is that this may also pose problems for companies when it comes to accountability and productivity. After all, administrators don’t know how their business travelers will spend their time during a trip. In case you feel like this might be an issue for you, you can always opt to use time tracking software solutions. Using these, business travelers may log their productive hours even while away from the office.

• Bleisure trips have increased by 20% between 2016 and 2017. (Forbes, 2018)
• Business travelers enjoy exploring new places and cultures (41%) more than meeting with clients and teams (17%). (Medium, 2017)
• 80% of corporate travelers make sure to squeeze in fun activities while on a business trip. (National Car Rental, 2018)
• Almost half of the corporate trips (40%) are extended for leisure. (Expedia Group, 2016)

Employee Expectations on Bleisure

Nowadays, business travelers are not shy about taking some time off while on a trip. After all, they deserve to have a bit of fun after working long hours out of the office. This is why they expect companies to cover bleisure in their travel policies.

• 82% of travelers expect support from their superiors when taking a break on business trips. (National Car Rental, 2018)
• Employees want their companies to consider bleisure for their travel policy. This means including a budget for extracurriculars (74%) and giving them the option to bring a guest on the trip (38%). Moreover, they want to be provided with the flexibility to extend their trips for leisure (34%) and given a budget for exercise and similar lifestyle activities during the trip (24%). (National Car Rental, 2018)
• 37% said that leisure activities should have an equal length as business activities during a corporate trip. (Expedia Group Media Solutions, 2016)

6. Statistics on the Modern Business Traveler

So, who is the modern corporate traveler? Statistics show that these travelers are mostly college-educated males who are older than 45 years old. They go on trips to attend conferences, build business partnerships, develop their careers, and find investors. Moreover, a handful of them spends a good fraction of their year traveling for business purposes.

• Two-thirds of corporate travelers have a bachelor’s degree. Moreover, they have an average household income of $82,000. (PhocusWire, 2017)
• 60% of business travelers are male. Meanwhile, 50% are older than 45 years old. (PhocusWire, 2017)
• Employees go on business trips to attend conferences (62%), to meet with other companies for business planning (56%), for professional development (44%), to meet with coworkers in a different location (40%), and to pitch new products (30%). (Skift, 2016)
• The top 10% of business travelers spend an average of 88 nights away from their homes per year. (Corporate Traveler, 2017)
• 50% of business travelers from Europe go on trips alone. (Fly Aeolus, 2017)

The Millennial Business Traveler

Millennials are poised to comprise the majority of the workforce in the coming years. So, it only makes sense that we tackle how millennial employees view business travel and how they travel for business.

In the statistics we’ve culled, millennials see being sent on corporate trips as a job perk than an inconvenience. So much so that they even create reasons to travel for business. In fact, as of 2016, this generation has become the most active business travelers.

Another thing that sets them apart from previous generations is that while they prioritize cost-efficiency by avoiding expensive hotels and flights, they have a penchant for bleisure. This means they make it a point to balance each trip for both business and leisure.

• 65% of business travelers who are millennials view corporate trips as a status symbol. (Forbes, 2018)
• 56% of millennials create reasons to go on business trips. Moreover, 69% of them want to extend their trip for leisure. (Forbes, 2018)
• Millennials go on 7.4 trips every year. (Skift, 2016)
• Millennial business travelers in the tech industry prioritize cost-efficiency by opting for non-chain hotels. Also, 85% of them booked budget flights instead of choosing business class seats. (TravelPerk)
• 78% of Millennials intentionally make time for leisure on business trips. (Business Wire, 2016)

Why Do Employees Go On Business Trips?

To attend conferences

To meet with other companies for business planning

For professional development

To meet with coworkers in a different location

To pitch new products

Source: Skift

7. Business Travel Policy Statistics

Business travelers represent your company. So, how they travel must be in line with your business values. This is why it is pertinent to have a corporate travel policy.

With this, you can set standards as to where they should stay, which airlines to pick, what car rentals to choose. It also allows you to set rules around what gifts may be purchased during the trip. In addition, travel policies can serve as a guideline for on-site spending.

However, not every company and business traveler realizes the value of a travel policy. So, many opt not to create one.

If you don’t have one, you might want to find a good travel management software to do it. As an alternative, you may also utilize reliable business process management solutions .

• A business travel market report revealed that 40% of businesses still don’t have a travel policy. (Egencia, 2018)
• 60% of corporate travelers say they don’t understand the need for a company travel policy. (TravelPerk, 2019)
• Companies allow more than half of business travelers to book their trips however they prefer. (Egencia, 2018)
• The factors that have a negative impact on business travel are the lack of formal processes and outdated booking systems. (Medium, 2017)

Corporate Travel Management Problems

Of course, simply having a travel policy is not a surefire way to maximize corporate trips. Its positive effect on your business travel processes depends on how you implement it. As you’ll see in the business travel statistics below, companies with travel policies encounter their fair share of problems.

Many of them have travel policies that are not in line with their company culture. Furthermore, not all of them can manage their policies effectively. Lastly, they have many employees who choose not to comply with the policy they have in place.

• 27% of business travelers say that their company’s travel policy is ill-managed. (Medium, 2017)
• 52% of employees say that their company’s travel policy only moderately aligns with their company culture. (Medium, 2017)
• 69% of business travelers comply with corporate travel policies. (Lola.com, 2019)
• Business travelers often book accommodations out-of-policy because they are not close enough to the destination (37%) or because they found a better hotel within their per diem (37%). (Egencia, 2018)

8. Statistics on Business Travel Concerns

While there may be quite a lot of tools that you can use to optimize the business travel experience, the industry still has a long way to go. What’s more, with the pandemic, corporate travelers today are poised to encounter more obstacles and concerns that may impede them from being the most efficient they can be. For example, many of them still need to deal with delayed flights, long waiting times at the airport, as well as the hassle of lengthy security and safety processes.

• The most common issues that business travelers face are flight delays (65.7%), flight cancellations (31.9%), and paying for travel expenses with a personal credit card (30.5%). These were followed by their company’s tool not having the best booking rates (29.3%) and lack of support in resolving issues while traveling (23%). (Skift + TripActions Business Travel Survey, 2020)
• The most tiring aspects of business travel are the waiting time (27%) and having no direct flights (25%). In addition, travelers feel that the ride to and from the airport (22%), early or late departures/arrivals (16%), and the flight itself (10%) are also exhausting. (Fly Aeolous, 2017)
• The longest waiting times for security screening at US Airports in 2019 are Newark Liberty International, NJ (23.1 minutes), George Bush International, TX (19.8 minutes), Miami International, FL (19.6 minutes), and Baltimore-Washington International (18.2 minutes). (Statista, 2019)

Source: Statista

9. Business Travel Tech Usage Statistics

Corporate travelers are a tech-savvy bunch. They rely heavily on the internet and their smartphones to manage their trips. Moreover, they have quite a knack for learning new technology. As a result, they have high expectations for their companies, travel agencies, airline companies, and similar firms when it comes to innovation.

For example, they want to have access to all-in-one applications that will help them consolidate and accelerate the travel planning process. In addition, they are looking forward to having voice-activated assistants for travel queries. As you’ll see below, these are only a few of the many things that they are expecting from the industry.

• 51% of passengers around the world used a smartphone or other device to check in online. (IATA, 2019)
• 27% of global passengers use an airline app to make last-minute purchases such as an additional bag, upgrade, or lounge access. (IATA, 2019)
• The majority of modern travelers (57%) want to have a single application to manage their planning and booking needs. (Booking.com, 2018)
• 57% of travelers want to have a mobile app that will let them track their luggage in real-time. (Booking.com, 2018)
• 31% of travelers say they like the idea of using voice-activated assistants for their travel queries. (Booking.com, 2018)

FinTech Options for Business Travel

Traveling involves quite a lot of expenditures. Therefore, corporate travelers make a large number of transactions that need to be accounted for after each trip. However, manually tracking spending during a trip can be tedious and prone to errors.

As a result, many travelers are now relying on financial technology, such as expense management software and cashless transactions. These allow them to record their expenditures as they go and make sure that they remain within budget. With these, it is easier for companies to maximize their travel budget down to the last penny.

• It takes an average of 40 hours per month for business travelers to reconcile their expenses and payment data. (Egencia, 2018)
• 66.5% of companies use an online expense reporting platform with a mobile solution. (Business Travel News, 2020)
• In light of the pandemic, 55.7% of corporate travel managers say that contactless payments have become a higher priority for their travel program. (Business Travel News, 2020)
• 51% of corporate travelers believe that all business trip payments will be made via mobile devices in a few years. (Business Travel News Europe, 2017)

The Decline of Ride-Hailing Apps

Ride-sharing apps are undoubtedly cheaper and more convenient alternatives than car rental and chauffeur services. However, with the current pandemic, it seems less and less business travelers are willing to leverage them due to the risk of contracting the virus.

• Ride-hailing companies make up 70.5% of all ground transportation receipts for business trips. (USA Today, 2018)
• Usage of ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft dropped between 70% to 80% due to travel reductions brought about by the pandemic. (Forbes, 2020)
• 39% of U.S. consumers who previously used ride-sharing plan to lessen their use of these services. (CarGurus, 2020)
• However, the total number of ride-sharing services are expected to reach 71.3 million users in 2021. (eMarketer, 2020)

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Tech

Business travelers, while often trained to deal with unforeseen circumstances, want to come prepared. That is to say; they like visualizing how their travel plans are going to pan out well before the actual trip. To do this, they must familiarize themselves with their destination.

This is where augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) comes in. These technologies will allow them to get the lay of the land. So, it is easier to map out their itineraries and manage expectations for the trip. For more information about this tech, be sure to check out our list of VR statistics for 2019 .

• Business travel data reveals that 1 in 5 travelers want to use AR so that it is easy to check out their destination before a trip. (Booking.com, 2018)
• 81% of business travelers expect hotels to use virtual, reception-free check-in processes in the future. Meanwhile, 79% predict that using VR tech for accommodations will become the norm in the next 10 years. (Business Travel News Europe, 2017)

Artificial Intelligence

In a similar vein as practically every other industry, business travel is also being reshaped by artificial intelligence (AI). Many travel companies, managers, and corporate travelers rely on this tech to make their trips much more efficient. As you’ll see below, they find this very useful when it comes to monitoring employees as well as finding travel suggestions for planning.

• The majority of corporate travel managers (82%) say that the use of AI for business travel is “very useful” or somewhat useful.” (Skift, 2018)
• 55% of business travelers say they will allow employers to use GPS tracking to monitor their location during out-of-town trips. (Travelport, 2018)
• 41% expect travel brands to use AI to provide them with significant travel suggestions. (Booking.com, 2018)

If you are looking for emerging trends in AI usage, we also have this list of AI statistics that you might find handy.

10. Impact of COVID-19 on Business Travel

With lockdowns and travel restrictions, COVID-19 has turned the business travel sector upside-down. Even as vaccination programs offer a glimmer of hope that business will resume soon, companies still worry about their liabilities for employees who travel without getting vaccinated.

• At the outset of the pandemic, 98% of member countries of the Global Business Travel Association canceled international business tours, while 92% canceled all or most of their business trips. (GlobeNewswire, 2020)
• International business travel experienced a sharp decline of -70% in 2020. (U.S. Travel Association, 2021)
• In a survey, 24% of respondents said that their company is considering returning to domestic travel in one to three months. (Global Business Travel Association, 2020)
• On the other hand, only 6% of respondents said that their company is considering returning to international business travel in one to three months. (Global Business Travel Association, 2020)
• 57% of business travelers are considering taking a trip in the next six months. However, corporate travel and meeting planners are concerned with their liability if employees travel without being vaccinated. (MMGY Global, 2020)
• Only 6% of people miss traveling for business, compared to 48% who miss travel to spend time with loved ones. (Airbnb, 2021)
• Moreover, as of December 2020, 21% of travel managers report that they are not willing to travel for work. (Global Business Travel Association, 2020)
• When the pandemic is over, 36% of people expect to travel less for work compared to pre-COVID conditions. (Airbnb, 2021)

Source: GBTA 2020

What Do These Business Travel Facts Mean for Your Company?

The pandemic has changed not only the number of flights worldwide but also the entire face of business travel. But with some signs of bouncing back in the years to come, it is hoped that things will soon be better for one of the industries that were deeply hit by the pandemic. Until then, it is important for companies to find ways on how to carry out business travel in these challenging times.

After all, while it may be convenient to connect with people using video conferencing and similar modes of communication, we have to admit that these are not enough. Getting your message across to customers, colleagues, and potential partners is only half the purpose of these business interactions. If you truly want to build rapport, develop trust, and ensure coordination. Undoubtedly, face-to-face meetings are still the way to go. This is why business travel remains a crucial part of many industries.

As you have already read in our article, corporate travel is expensive, and it is getting more so every year. However, when these are planned thoroughly and executed properly, you can open more opportunities for your company. It can even help you attract the best talents for your company.

Just be sure to take the time to understand the needs of your business travelers. This way, you can have a better idea of how you can improve the experience for them and maximize their participation in each trip.

To sum up, we hope that our list of business travel statistics was able to help you get a better idea of the state of the industry as well as where it is headed. With this data, preparing for future business travel efforts should be much simpler.

References:

• 10 fun facts for business travel road warriors. (2017, July 31). Corporate Traveller .
• 2018 airfare study – The best time to buy flights, based on 917 million airfares. (2018, March 21). CheapAir .
• 91 business travel statistics (Some never before released). (2019, June 6). TravelPerk .
• ACTE Research. (2020, January 28). Quality management in business travel. BCD Travel .
• Advances in procurement technology and business travel. (2018, November 19). Egencia .
• Baker, M. (2019, April 18). 5 reasons your corporate travel policy needs regular review. Lola.com .
• Booking.com reveals 8 travel predictions for 2019. (2018, October 18). Booking.com .
• Business travellers expect to be cashless by 2027. (2017, September 28). BTN Europe .
• CarGurus U.S. COVID-19 sentiment study. (2020, April). CarGurus Dealer Resource Center .
• Coronavirus poll results. (2020, December 17). Global Business Travel Association – GBTA .
• Cramer-Flood, E. (2020, September 22). Uber and Lyft users and sales will decline dramatically this year. Insider Intelligence – eMarketer .
• CWT research: Two-thirds of travelers pick window over aisle; 52% prefer missed flight over lost luggage. (2019, April 30). CWT .
• CWT™ Research. (2019, June 26). RoomIt by CWT™ research reveals key differences in business traveler hotel preferences by country. CWT .
• Deane, S. (2020, May 15). Over 60 business travel statistics (2021). Stratos Jet Charters, Inc .
• Ferreira, M. (2018, December 12). The most expensive airports for business travellers. FairFX Blog .
• Getting back to business: Navigating the safe return of meetings and their role in economic recovery. (2020). U.S. Travel Association .
• Ghijs, S. (2017). The business flight travel survey statistics. Fly Aeolus .
• Global business travel industry. (2021, April). Reportlinker.com .
• Goldstein, M. (2018, June 28). Millennials say business travel is rough, give us more. Forbes .
• Goldstein, M. (2020, July 27). What is the future for Uber and Lyft after the pandemic? Forbes .
• How innovative companies travel. (2017). TravelPerk .
• IATA global passenger survey 2018 highlights. (2018). IATA .
• IATA global passenger survey 2019 highlights. (2019). IATA .
• Infographic – The average cost of business travel. (n.d.). Certify .
• Jet, J. (2018, October 25). Are Bleisure trips becoming more common? This study says yes. Forbes .
• Jovic, D. (2021, January 11). 42 business travel statistics you should know about in 2021. SmallBizGenius .
• Kaki, M. R. (2020, March 25). A comprehensive guide to building corporate travel policy. Fyle .
• Kemmis, S. (2020, August 24). Analysis: How have hotel prices changed in 2020 vs. 2019? NerdWallet .
• Lodging industry trends 2015. (2015). American Hotel & Lodging Association – AHLA .
• London ranked joint 10th most expensive location in the world for business trips. (2019, April 17). ECA International .
• May, K. (2021, February 2). Business travel expected to make full recovery by 2025. PhocusWire .
• Mazareanu, E. (2020, November 6). Topic: Ridesharing services in the U.S. Statista .
• McCarthy, N. (2019, August 19). Infographic: TSA security: The longest waits at U.S. airports. Statista Infographics .
• McDonald, M. (2017, July 19). New GBTA report highlights huge impact of business travel on the US economy. PhocusWire .
• Menze, J. (2018, August 6). Airbnb for work bookings triple, drive “significant” growth for homes business. PhocusWire .
• Mezi. (2017, July 13). The changing landscape of business travel. Medium .
• More than 40 percent of business trips are extended for leisure purposes. (2016, December 7). Expedia Group Media Solutions .
• The most expensive US destinations to rent a car 2020. (2020, August 6). Cheap Car Rental . https://www.cheapcarrental.net/press/summer2020.html
• National car rental 2018 state of business travel survey fact sheet. (2018). National Car Rental .
• New GBTA research shows coronavirus continues to impact the business travel industry. (2020, March 10). Global Business Travel Association – GBTA .
• Perrotta, A. (2020, November 5). Technology trend watch. Business Travel News .
• Pitrelli, M. B. (2020, September 23). Many thought airfares would spike in the age of coronavirus. That’s not happening yet. CNBC .
• Qui, S., & Freed, J. (2020, October 15). China’s domestic flights in September top pre-pandemic levels. Skift .
• Reid, C. (2020, December 16). Travel in 2021 will be better and worse than you think. MMGY Global .
• Report: 2021 will be the year of meaningful travel. (2021, January 28). Airbnb .
• ReportLinker. (2020, November 19). Global business travel industry. GlobeNewswire News Room .
• Reuters. (2020, March 11). Business travel sector to lose $820 billion in revenue on coronavirus hit, industry group says. CNBC .
• Sanchez, M. (2017, October 11). Business travel’s influence on employee retention, recruitment and results. Global Business Travel Association – GBTA .
• Sheivachman, A. (2016, October 27). Millennials are now the most frequent business travelers. Skift .
• Skift Research, & McKinsey & Company. (2020, September). The travel industry turned upside down. McKinsey & Company .
• Skift, & Turkish Airlines. (2018). The 2018 Skift global business traveler report. Skift .
• Small business owners realize benefits in taking vacations, but still struggle to unplug, Marriott rewards premier business credit card survey reveals. (2016, June 14). Business Wire .
• Statista Research Department. (2021, February 18). COVID-19 impact on business trips to U.S. 2021. Statista .
• Travelport survey shows business travelers most willing to allow employer tracking. (2018). Travelport .
• Travelport: Over half of business travelers willing to pay for extras. (2018, August 15). AeroLatinNews .
• Trejos, N. (2018, May 2). These are the most expensed restaurants, hotels, airlines among business travelers. USA TODAY .
• TripActions, & Skift. (2019, October 24). New report: The state of business travel 2020. Skift .
• TripActions, & Skift. (2019, October 28). New report: The state of business travel 2020. Skift .
• U.S. business travel. (2017, May 20). Bureau of Transportation Statistics .
• Updated business travel IRS per diem rates have been announced for 2020. (2020, September 30). Maxwell, Locke & Ritter – MLR .
• Weekly coronavirus impact on travel expenditures in the U.S. (2021, January 22). U.S. Travel Association .
• Weir, M. (2019, November 5). How much airfare in the US costs today compared to 10 years ago. Business Insider .
• Whatman, P. (2021, March 30). 60+ fascinating business travel statistics for 2021. Spendesk .
• Which passengers make the most money for airlines? (2020, October 7). Investopedia .
• Wood, D. (2020, February 25). REPORT: Companies spend $111.7 billion annually on business travel. TravelPulse .
• YOUNIQUE: Personalized marketing index, the new travel experience. (2017). Accenture .

By James Anthony

A senior FinancesOnline writer on SaaS and B2B topics, James Anthony passion is keeping abreast of the industry’s cutting-edge practices (other than writing personal blog posts on why Firefly needs to be renewed). He has written extensively on these two subjects, being a firm believer in SaaS to PaaS migration and how this inevitable transition would impact economies of scale. With reviews and analyses spanning a breadth of topics from software to learning models, James is one of FinancesOnline’s most creative resources on and off the office.

Related posts

10 Future Business Travel Trends & Predictions for 2024 and Beyond

Best Project Portfolio Management Software - PPM in 2024

10 Inexpensive LMS Solutions For Small Businesses And Startups in 2024

12 Best Maintenance Management Software for Small Business in 2024

Sisense: Pros & Cons of the Top Business Intelligence Software in 2024

12 Best POS Apps To Consider For Your Business In 2024

15 Best Sales Software Systems for Your Business in 2024

6 Steps to Build an International Marketing Plan in 2024

What does the HubSpot CRM do? Features and Benefits of a Free CRM Software in 2024

Best Marketing Software Companies in 2024

Top 15 Content Management Software Systems for Business in 2024

10 Best IT Security Software Solutions of 2024

20 Best SEO Monitoring & Tracking Tools in 2024

20 Best SEO Analysis & Audit Tools of 2024

20 Best ERP Platforms for 2024

Top 10 Alternatives to Expensify: List of Leading Expense Management Software Solutions

20 Best IT Security Software Solutions of 2024

20 Best Web Based Medical Practice Management Software in 2024

Top 10 Alternatives To Jobber: Leading Field Management Service Software Solutions

20 Best Free Video Editing Software For Linux in 2024

Leave a comment!

Add your comment below.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

Why is FinancesOnline free?

FinancesOnline is available for free for all business professionals interested in an efficient way to find top-notch SaaS solutions. We are able to keep our service free of charge thanks to cooperation with some of the vendors, who are willing to pay us for traffic and sales opportunities provided by our website. Please note, that FinancesOnline lists all vendors, we’re not limited only to the ones that pay us, and all software providers have an equal opportunity to get featured in our rankings and comparisons, win awards, gather user reviews, all in our effort to give you reliable advice that will enable you to make well-informed purchase decisions.

EU Office: Grojecka 70/13 Warsaw, 02-359 Poland

US Office: 120 St James Ave Floor 6, Boston, MA 02116

• Add Your Product
• Research Team
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Cookies Policy
• Scoring Methodology
• Do not sell my personal information
• Write For Us
• For Small Business
• Top Software
• Software reviews
• Software comparisons
• Software alternatives

Copyright © 2024 FinancesOnline. All B2B Directory Rights Reserved.

• English (CA)
• Deutsch (DE)
• Deutsch (CH)

100+ business travel statistics (some never before released)

See how to save your company time and money on business travel

How the coronavirus pandemic affected business travel.

Business travel was hit hard by the 2020 health crisis

• International mobility decreased by 65% due to COVID-19 - the lowest rate of travel since the introduction of the Boeing 707 in 1958 which marked the start of the Jet Age ( McKinsey ).
• Following 10 years of predictable growth, the losses sustained by corporate travel in 2020 were 10 times larger than those seen after 9/11 and the 2008 recession ( Global Business Travel Association ).
• It’s estimated the travel industry will lose $820 billion of corporate travel spending due to the coronavirus pandemic ( CNBC ).
• Reduced spending on travel cost the U.S. economy $162 billion in 2020 alone ( U.S. Travel Association ).
• 2020 saw two-thirds of flights put out of action, and 18 airlines declared bankruptcy (McKinsey).
• While business travel was down by 90% at the height of the pandemic, some companies saw work travel return to about 80% of pre-pandemic levels when restrictions eased over the summer (McKinsey).
• In 2020 hotels were at 29% occupancy worldwide, compared with 72% occupancy over the same period in 2019 (McKinsey).
• In 2020 travel managers reported annual travel spending was only 5-15% of the previous year’s totals (McKinsey).
• Research has revealed that, on average, it takes 5 years for airline services to return to normal levels after unexpected events like the pandemic ( IATA ).

Never fear—business travel is bouncing back

• After losses of 52% in 2020, corporate travel is predicted to generate $842 billion in spending in 2021 ( GBTA ).
• 30% of employees would accept roles with a lower salary if the position offered more opportunities to travel ( Booking.com for Business ).
• 64% of workers believe in-person contact is vital for building trust, with 53% stating they have more faith in face-to-face sales situations than online prospectors ( TravelPerk ).
• 53% of survey participants believe their industry requires face-to-face meetings. HR teams, in particular, think that in-person contact is crucial, with 67% of respondents stating their sector would collapse if meetings were forced online ( TravelPerk ).
• Virtual meetings may not reap the best results, with 60% of employees claiming they prepare more for face-to-face meetings than online alternatives ( TravelPerk ).
• For every dollar they spend on business travel, organizations reap an extra $12.50 in revenue ( TravelPerk ).
• The business travel market is expected to recover and hit $829.5 billion by 2027 ( ReportLinker ).
• Almost 100% of corporate travelers enjoy the time they spend traveling for work ( NationalCar.com ).
• 90% of corporate travelers want to carry on taking work trips for the duration of their career ( SavvySleeper ).
• While it’s hard to say for sure when business travel will return to pre-pandemic levels, we’re seeing some interesting domestic recovery trends already. In Europe, domestic travel in Germany was at a low point back in April 2020 at only 8%. However, by September, this reached 71% of pre-pandemic levels! Something similar happened in Spain, where domestic travel was as low as 1% in April and rose to 45% in September when the restrictions were relaxed (TravelPerk proprietary data).
• Business travelers started traveling domestically before international travel resumed. U.S. business travelers are leading the charge at 47% recovery as of January 2021. That’s followed by Spain at 25% domestic recovery, and Germany at 12% (TravelPerk proprietary data).
• Domestic business travel in China is already bouncing back - in fact, only 2% of respondents to this McKinsey report had taken a domestic business trip before May 2020, whereas 25% of respondents had taken one by August of the same year.
• According to our own survey, 50% of companies have implemented new corporate travel policies for the next normal ( TravelPerk ).
• In a 2020 survey, 30% of participants believed their organization would spend 30% of their annual travel budgets on client meetings in 2021, increasing 6% on 2019 spending ( Statista ).
• The proportion of female business travelers is growing. In the USA, 47% of business travelers are now women ( CreditDonkey ).

Is business travel on the increase in your team?

You'll travel a little differently than you did before.

• Over half of business travelers surveyed said that travel restrictions put them off booking arrangements for fear of not having them refunded. More flexible cancellation policies will continue to be key ( GlobalData ).
• Being able to reach providers to change or cancel flights easily (70%)
• Having access to security fast lanes (69%)
• Maintaining social distancing through spacious seating on flights (66%).
• Your travel planning windows will be shorter. You’ll look for tickets and accommodation closer to your departure date than you did before. Data from our own platform reveals that searches for trips less than 6 days away are now almost equal to searches for trips between 7 and 30 days away. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the vast majority of trips were searched for and planned 7 to 30 days in advance ( TravelPerk ).
• Rail travel will boom over air travel and is already leading the path to recovery. Our own data shows that 80% of domestic trips in Germany are being booked on trains ( TravelPerk ). Furthermore, nearly 50% of passengers now find reducing their carbon emissions and sustainability more important than they did before COVID-19 ( GlobalData ).
• Airfares could rise by as much as 54% in a post-pandemic world. This will be due to the growing need to keep planes at a higher standard of cleanliness than before, more contactless solutions, and 24-hour service at airports. Travel managers will therefore need to find ways to optimize their business travel spending and consider savings as a significant part of their company’s travel policy ( BBC ).

Future-proof your corporate travel management

The cost of business travel.

• In 2021 the United States led global spending on corporate travel with a bill of $322.42 billion ( World Bank ).
• The cost of the average American business trip is $1293. While domestic trips average at $990 per itinerary, for international ventures, the number rises to $2525 ( Runzheimer and Expert Market ).
• Domestic flights within the U.S are increasing in cost, with roundtrips averaging around $330 compared to $235 at the start of 2022 ( Travel Pulse ).
• In 2020 the breakdown of spending for business trips was 34% for accommodation, 27% for air tickets, 27% for meal costs, and 19% for car rental ( Travel Pulse ).
• In 2022 the IRS's recommended per diem rate for meals and other incidental costs for US business travelers was set at $59, and the average cost for accommodation was set at $96 per night ( Federal Pay ).

The US is getting expensive, like Switzerland

• In a 2019 survey, New York City took the top spot for the most expensive city for corporate travel, with per diem spending averaging $799. Coming in second was Zurich, with an average spend of $661 per day and closely followed by Washington DC ($621) and Paris ($617) ( ECA International ).
• In Asia, Hong Kong came in first as the most expensive city for business travelers, with the average daily spend coming in at $515 (ECA International).
• Joined only by Paris and Reykjavik, the United States and Switzerland are home to 8 of the world's top 10 most expensive cities for corporate travel. Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco made the list for the USA, while Geneva, Zurich, Bern, and Basel made up the Swiss contributions ( ECA International ).
• Perhaps unsurprisingly, Geneva was ranked top for most expensive business trip destinations in Europe in 2019, with other Swiss cities also featuring heavily in the top 6 (ECA International).

Further reading recommended:

Tech innovators and unicorns travel differently, disruptive tools, technology and trends.

• The number of Airbnb bookings among tech companies doubled from 2017 to 2018 (TravelPerk).
• Millennial business travelers employed by tech companies prefer non-chain hotels and low-cost air carriers. 85% of them booked low-cost airlines in 2018 (TravelPerk).
• 74% of millennial travelers have stayed in a rental property while on a business trip compared to 38% of Generation X travelers and 20% of baby boomers. 44% of millennials stated they preferred staying in Airbnb-style rentals while traveling for work ( Hipmunk ).
• Tech travelers break with company policy less than those in the consulting industry. On average, tech companies report 13% of itineraries are not technically compliant with travel policies compared to 16% from consulting firms (TravelPerk).
• European tech companies have unusual travel hubs: Amsterdam, Stockholm, Brighton, Lisbon, and Copenhagen are among their top destinations (TravelPerk).
• When surveyed, 98% of travel managers claim the most significant metrics are policy compliance, traveler experience, and expenditure ( ACTE ).

Why and how business travelers travel

Most corporate travelers travel just once per year, predominantly to visit clients.

• 30% of European corporate travelers fly once per month. 62% travel once per year. 5% travel 21 to 40 times per year ( Fly Aeolus ).
• 44% of European corporate travelers fly to visit with a customer. 32% fly to visit another company office in a different city (Fly Aeolus).
• In the USA, personal cars are used for 81% of business trips ( United States Department of Transportation ).
• Group business travel is more common than you might think. 50% of European corporate business trips are for parties of two or more (Fly Aeolus).
• 26% of European business travelers report a direct connection as the top factor influencing their decision when selecting flights. Other primary considerations were price (19%), convenience with existing schedules (23%), and airport location (20%) (Fly Aeolus).

Business travel industry trends and impact

There’s a push to measure the roi of travel.

• Companies realize $12.50 in incremental revenue for every dollar invested in business travel ( Oxford Economics ).
• An estimated 28% of current business would be lost if business travel were suddenly cut off (Oxford Economics).
• However, only 13% of corporate travel managers actively measure trip success rate and trip ROI ( ACTE ).

Travel management metrics need improving

• 80% of corporate travel managers believe that a standard system of measurement would positively impact corporate travel ( ACTE ).
• 81% of travel managers measure booking statistics like advance bookings, hotel attachment, and booking issues (ACTE) .
• Only 37% of travel managers measure travel engagement (how frequently travelers interact with the TMC or in-house travel manager) (ACTE) .
• 94% of corporate travel managers rely on a TMC or travel agency for reporting (ACTE) .
• Only 61% of corporate travel managers use traveler surveys as part of their travel management metrics. These surveys can help gather data on traveler satisfaction and trip success (ACTE) .
• 4 out of 5 business travel managers believe enacting a system of metrics could benefit their corporate travel program (ACTE) .

Self-booking and mobile bookings are growing

• 59% of U.S. business travelers always book their hotel themselves and 30% usually book their hotel themselves ( Statista ).
• In another survey, 69% of business travelers report that they book travel themselves regardless of the type of booking ( Skift ).
• While desktop bookings still reign supreme, 79% of corporate travelers have completed a business trip booking on their mobile device ( LCT ).
• Business travelers love live chat. 79% of travel industry businesses saw an increase in revenue when they provided live chat (LCT).

Traveler satisfaction and concerns

What travelers want.

• 80% of frequent business travelers feel that they deserve to make time for fun activities during most of their business trips. And fortunately, 79% of them feel that their boss agrees ( NationalCar ).
• 86% of business travelers say that they know how to successfully manage their personal lives while away from home ( NationalCar ).
• 61% of travel managers have a system in place to measure their traveler’s satisfaction ( ACTE ).
• 22% of business travelers would like travel suppliers to remember their personal details for the future ( Accenture ).
• 67% of travelers would like travel companies to make recommendations based on their previous preferences ( Accenture ).
• Over 50% of travelers would appreciate real-time notifications and for airlines to rebook their flights automatically ( International Air Transport Association ).
• Post lockdown, the most significant factor for 70% of business travelers when booking airfares is flexibility. Other key variants are onboard sanitation (63%), flying direct (61%), and hygiene protocols between flights ( Skift Research & McKinsey ).

What business travelers are concerned about

• Flight delays are the leading concern among U.S. business travelers. The second concern is the dreaded middle seat ( Statista ).
• European corporate travelers rank the most tiring aspects of business travel like so: 27% say waiting time is the most tiring while 25% choose no direct flights, 22% say riding to and from the airport, 16% say early departure times or late arrivals and 10% say the flight itself ( Fly Aeolus ).
• What is the number one way to improve the traveler experience? 35% of European corporate travelers report that having to spend less time at the airport is the number one thing they wish they could improve. 23% would like to spend less time on the way to the airport. 26% want better availability of direct flights and the remaining 16% want greater flexibility with their schedule (Fly Aeolus).

Millennial business travel statistics

Millennials are the most frequent business travelers.

• Millennials take an average of 7.4 trips per year ( Skift ).
• Baby boomers take an average of 6.3 trips per year (Skift).
• 75% of millennial business travelers think that traveling for work is a perk ( Hilton Hotels & Reports Survey ).
• 65% of millennial business travelers see it as a status symbol ( Hilton Hotels & Reports Survey ).
• 34% of surveyed employees revealed they have their most innovative ideas while traveling for work. When analyzing the data from 16-24-year-old respondents, this number jumps to 53% ( TravelPerk ).

Most millennials are happy with their ability to self-book...but are they using company approved sites?

• 72% of millennial business travelers are satisfied with their ability to book business travel on a third-party site ( Statista ).
• Hotel bookings are extremely fractured. 28% of millennial business travelers book hotels directly on a hotel’s website. 10% book hotels through an OTA like Expedia. 7% book with a third-party reseller like Kayak. 14% book with a travel agent ( Skift ).

Millennials value free time and leisure time during business travel

• 43% of millennials have extended their business travel trip for leisure ( Statista ).
• 78% of millennials have purposefully carved out personal time during a business trip ( Forbes ).
• 57% of companies have a policy in place for employees who wish to extend their business trip with vacation time ( Forbes ).
• Millennial men are twice as likely to believe they should avoid having fun on a business trip, 41% versus 20% ( NationalCar ).

Business versus leisure travel statistics

Bleisure is climbing.

• Bleisure trips grew 20% from 2016 to 2017 ( Forbes ).
• More than 40% of business trips are extended for leisure purposes ( Expedia ).
• Bleisure travelers are typically frequent business travelers: 32% of bleisure travelers travel for work once or twice per month (Expedia) .
• Business trips for conferences or conventions are the most likely to become bleisure trips. 43% of trips for these types of events will turn into bleisure trips, while 24% of trips for team offsite meetings and 9% of sales trips will be a bleisure trip (Expedia) .
• 84% of bleisure trips that are less than three days take place in one city, while 20% of bleisure trips that are longer than three days take place in more than one city (Expedia) .
• Why do business trips turn into bleisure trips? 66% percent of bleisure travelers say it's because they like the destination and want to explore it. 51% said they turn business trips into bleisure trips based on the proximity to the weekend (Expedia) .

The proportion of business travel spend versus leisure travel spend continues to grow

• Each year, the proportion of business travel spend grows by about .05%. In 2017, the most recent available year, business travel accounted for 30% of all travel spend in the U.S. ( Statista ).
• While business travelers typically make up just 12% of all flyers, they are twice as profitable to airlines because they are loyal and use frequent flier programs, buy amenities like extra legroom, and also book more flights with less notice ( Investopedia ).

First-class travel isn’t affected by the purpose of the trip

• Each year 19% of U.S. travelers will board a first-class flight for leisure. Meanwhile, 20% of US travelers will fly first class for a business trip in the span of one year ( Statista and Statista )

Rogue bookings

Do business travelers comply.

• 60% of companies have a corporate travel policy in place, and 50% of companies allow travelers to book using any method they choose ( Lodging ).
• Hotels are most frequently booked outside of the approved channel. 46% of business travelers have booked hotels on consumer sites because they found a better price (Lodging) .
• 52% of employees feel their organization’s corporate travel policy moderately aligns with the company’s wider culture ( Medium, 2017 ).
• Only 69% of business travelers feel they can comply with their organization’s corporate travel policies ( Lola.com , 2019 ).
• Using a travel management tool can help improve compliance with corporate travel policies. An advanced booking solution can assist organizations in raising their compliance to 100% through powerful automation systems.

Make business travel simpler. Forever.

• See our platform in action . Trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, TravelPerk makes business travel simpler to manage with more flexibility, full control of spending with easy reporting, and options to offset your carbon footprint.
• Find hundreds of resources on all things business travel, from tips on traveling more sustainably, to advice on setting up a business travel policy, and managing your expenses. Our latest e-books and blog posts have you covered.
• Never miss another update. Stay in touch with us on social for the latest product releases, upcoming events, and articles fresh off the press.

Business Travel and Wellness Survey Results

60+ online travel booking statistics & trends

20 Employee retention statistics that might surprise you

• Business Travel Management
• Offset Carbon Footprint
• Flexible travel
• Travelperk Sustainability Policy
• Corporate Travel Resources
• Corporate Travel Glossary
• For Travel Managers
• For Finance Teams
• For Travelers
• Thoughts from TravelPerk
• Careers Hiring
• User Reviews
• Integrations
• Privacy Center
• Help Center
• Privacy Policy
• Cookies Policy
• Modern Slavery Act | Statement
• Supplier Code of Conduct

US Travel Header Utility Menu

• Future of Travel Mobility
• Travel Action Network
• Commission on Seamless & Secure Travel
• Travel Works
• Journey to Clean

Header Utility Social Links

• Follow us on FOLLOW US
• Follow us on Twitter
• Follow us on LinkedIn
• Follow us on Instagram
• Follow us on Facebook

User account menu

The latest travel data.

MONTHLY INSIGHTS March 04, 2024

U.S. Travel has temporarily paused our monthly data newsletter, however, the latest travel data is still available via the U.S. Travel Insights Dashboard . This dashboard is updated each month (member login required).

The U.S. Travel Insights Dashboard , developed in collaboration with Tourism Economics, is supported by more than 20 data sources. The dashboard is the most comprehensive and centralized source for high-frequency intelligence on the U.S. travel industry, tracking industry performance, travel volumes and predictive indicators of recovery including air and lodging forecasts, DMO website traffic, convention and group trends, travel spending and losses, traveler sentiment, among others to measure the health of the industry.

Key Highlights January 2024:

• Travel appetite started the year on a softer note, but overall growth continued. Air passenger growth remained positive, up 6% versus the prior year but lower than the double-digit growth seen through 2023. Foreign visits remained strong, up 24% YoY.
• Hotel room demand continued a trend of slight contraction falling 1% versus the prior year, while short-term rental demand grew 1%, a lower rate than 2023.
• A particular bright spot was that group room demand within the top 25 markets displayed solid growth of 9% relative to the prior year.
• The outlook for the economy remains fairly optimistic due to the strength of the labor market, looser financial conditions and healthy household and nonfinancial corporate balance sheets. This has filtered through to slightly higher consumer sentiment in February.
• Sentiment is also growing for upcoming leisure travel in 2024. The share of travelers reporting having travel plans within the next six months increased to 93% in January from 92% in December, according to Longwoods International’s monthly survey.
• Travel price inflation (TPI) fell slightly in January as a result of falling transportation prices. Sticky services inflation should see relief from decelerating wage growth. However, upside risks stem from rising healthcare costs, supply chain disruptions and slowing labor supply. Source: U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics

Member Price:

Non-Member Price: Become a member to access.

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH

Travel Price Index

Travel Forecast

Quarterly Consumer Insights

Additional monthly insights are available through the full U.S. Travel Monthly Data Report, exclusive to members. Please inquire with  membership  if you are interested in learning about becoming a member of U.S. Travel Association. 

42 Business Travel Statistics That Will Inspire You to Hit the Road

By Danica Jovic

February 6, 2024

People enjoy traveling. Indeed, they like it so much that most don’t care if they need to send a few emails, attend meetings, or listen to seminars during their trip. Work hard, play hard – that’s the motto of business travelers, who are happy to endure a morning full of meetings if it means they can spend the afternoon sipping margaritas in the sun.

Business travel statistics show that about 30% of job seekers are ready to accept lower-paid jobs if they include business trips. Companies are aware that employees enjoy these “bleisure” trips, and are in many cases willing to make them more comfortable with a lot of money for travel spending, accommodation, meals, and transportation. We’ve compiled the following stats and facts to show just how popular business travel has become.

Editor’s Choice: Business Travel Statistics

• Global business travel statistics from 2017 show that during that year, $1.33 trillion was spent on business travel worldwide.
• Globally, annual business travel costs are expected to amount to $1.7 trillion by 2022.

According to the Global Business Travel Association, 1.3 million business trips are taken in the US every day.

• Almost 10% of business trips can be categorized as “bleisure” trips.

Although business travel is on the rise, only 60% of companies actually have a corporate travel policy.

General business travel statistics.

Even though we live in a telecommunication-dominated era, face-to-face business meetings are still essential for building stable and continuous relationships with clients. No matter how easy it is for workers to make a conference call, communicate with colleagues via Skype, or attend a webinar from the comfort of your own office, companies still organize business trips for employees. In fact, the business travel economy has grown rapidly since the Great Recession, with spending reaching $1.6. trillion in 2020.

The latest US business travel statistics show that US travelers took over 463 million business trips inside the US in 2018.

While business travelers account for only 12% of flight tickets, they generate roughly twice as much money per person for airlines as non-business customers..

(Investopedia)

Global business travel statistics from 2017 show that $1.33 trillion was spent on business travel worldwide during that calendar year.

(Global Business Travel Association)

Annual global business travel costs are set to rise to $1.7 trillion by 2022, according to what was then the National Business Travel Association.

Two-thirds of business travelers believe it’s difficult to build a working relationship via video calls..

(Skift and TripActions)

Global Business Travel Statistics

International business travel statistics show that the US and China are the global leaders when it comes to business travel spending, followed by India, Indonesia, and Sweden. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the most expensive cities for taking business trips are New York and the two largest Swiss cities: Zurich and Geneva. However, while most countries are spending more on business travel, the UK is going backward; there was a 3% decline in outbound business trips in 2018 due to concerns about Brexit.

China has the largest business travel market, with total spending amounting to $346.5 billion in 2017.

India (11.3%) and indonesia (8.7%) are the two countries with the fastest-growing business travel markets., new york city is the most expensive city for business travel, with daily costs adding up to ($799), followed by geneva, ($716 per day), zurich ($661 per day), washington dc ($621 per day), and paris ($617 per day)..

(ECA International)

Hong Kong remains the most expensive city in Asia for business travel, with an average daily cost of $515.

In total, more than $50 billion was spent on business travel in the uk in 2017., from 2017 to 2018, there was a 3% decline in outbound business trips from the uk. in fact, since 2016, the outbound traffic rate has dropped steadily due to concerns about brexit., american travel statistics for business.

American companies understand the importance of investing in business travel. Whether for meetings, educational events, or conferences, Americans spend a lot of time and money on both personal and group business trips.

This spending is particularly heavy on the west coast. Indeed, the annual number of inbound business trips to the west is 7.5 million higher than those heading from the west to other parts of the country.

By 2022, there will be nearly 500 million business trips per year within the US.

In the us, nearly $328 billion was spent on international and domestic business trips in 2018..

(US Travel Association)

Predictions suggest that North America will lose 1% of global business travel market share by 2022.

There are about 64 million inter-regional trips in the us every year, statistics about traveling show..

(US Department of Transportation)

The west is America’s most popular region for business trips; annually, it attracts nearly 7.5 million more inter-regional business trips than it sends away. Every year, the south hosts 7.7 million fewer inbound inter-regional business trips than outbound ones.

26% of all business trips are one day long, according to international travel statistics..

(Associations Now)

Business Traveler Demographics

If you’re wondering who makes these trips, the answer is not as straightforward as you might think. Men aged between 30 and 49 form the majority of the business travel population, but the number of women who travel for business is growing rapidly.

Travelers are growing up quickly too; 40% of millennials now travel for work, and many choose jobs specifically because of the opportunity to travel. Most millennials who travel extend their business trips to visit other cities.

According to Bureau of Transportation statistics, 77% of people traveling for work are men.

Although some sites claim that 47% of business travelers are women, according to the american travel bureau, the actual proportion of women travelers is just 23%., more than half of all business trips are taken by people aged 30 to 49., millennial business travelers – stats and facts.

Millennials have now reached the age when they’re starting to rise to important positions in the workplace. They’re also known for valuing work-life balance perhaps more than any previous generation. That’s why it’s no surprise that millennials are strongly represented in business travel statistics.

Nearly 40% of millennials travel for business.

(American Express)

Nearly two-thirds of young workers and millennials see business trips as a status symbol.

(Hilton Hotels & Resorts)

Travelers aged 18 to 29 take 16% of all business trips.

55% of millennials prefer to prolong their business trips in order to have more time to experience new places and learn new things., business travel costs.

Business travel isn’t cheap. Indeed, when you take into account transportation, accommodations, food, and attendance at seminars, the costs add up. And most companies don’t choose cheap travel options. Companies spend a lot of money on business trips in order to provide the best experience to their employees.

The average cost of business travel per day in the US is $325.

(Business Travel News)

On the average business trip, companies spend $1,217 for international round-trip tickets and $470 on domestic business tickets.

(JTB Business Travel)

For every trip, US businesses spend nearly $950 per traveler who travels inside the US, while the average cost for an international business trip is $2,600 per person.

Us businesses spend $31.6 billion on international travel every year., typically, companies’ business traveling budgets are distributed like this: meals (21%), flights (17%), miscellaneous expenses (17%), and accommodation (13%)., 5% of total business travel costs go toward cell phones, while only 3% are spent on taxi services., if you’re organizing a business trip to new york, you should budget $145 for three meals a day. however, in nashville, you’ll need to budget only $76.50., business travel transportation facts.

You might be surprised to learn that most of America’s business trips are made by car. Americans prefer to travel in their private vehicles when possible.

About 405 million long-distance business trips are made each year in America, according to US travel statistics.

81% of all business trips are taken by car, while 16% are taken by plane., distance plays an important role in determining which mode of transport should be used; 97% of short trips (50 to 90 miles) are taken by vehicle., the world’s most expensive travel lounges are in these airports: dubai ($329/person), london city ($157/person), and london heathrow ($67/person)., bleisure travel statistics.

Work hard, play hard – this is the philosophy many business travelers now live by. “Bleisure” is a portmanteau that means exactly what you think it means: corporate trips that consist of both business and leisure. Just ask freelancers or remote workers, many of whom have taken bleisure to be their new lifestyle. The average corporate traveler in the USA lives the bleisure lifestyle by extending business trips so they can visit new cities and interact with different cultures.

Almost 10% of business trips can be categorized as bleisure trips.

Nearly 60% of businesses support bleisure trips by encouraging employees to extend their business trips., nearly 50% of business travelers extend their trips to visit other countries or cities..

(Booking.com)

More Business Travel Statistics and Facts

Nowadays, people are willing to take lower-paid jobs if they include business trips as a perk. While some companies don’t support “shared economy services” like Airbnb and Uber, statistics show that most American business travellers prefer these types of services.

Traveling for work is the main reason about 30% of people would choose a lower-paying job.

(Finance Online)

40% of business travelers don’t follow their companies’ travel policies. Instead, they make their hotel reservations on their own.

(Skift and Turkish Airlines)

15% of total Airbnb bookings come from business travelers.

What percent of travel is for business.

Business trips make up about 12% of total air travel. However, thanks to business class fares, they typically generate twice as much money for airlines as regular trips.

How many people travel business each year?

According to US statistics on traveling, 405 million long-distance business trips are taken each year.

What businesses travel the most?

With younger generations – especially millennials – looking for more dynamic jobs, more and more companies are ready to organize regular business trips for their employees. In general, sales representatives, consultants, and travel agents tend to travel most often. Professions like programming and accounting are typically thought of as desk jobs, but nowadays even those workers are getting the chance to attend trips and conferences.

What age group travels the most?

People between 30 and 49 travel the most for business, and most of those travelers are men. However, the number of women of all ages traveling for business is increasing. About 40% of millennials travel for business.

How long is the average business trip?

Business trips are typically quite short. On average, 26% of business trips are only one day long. Of course, many people like to combine business and leisure by extending their business to visit other places, according to the latest business travel statistics.

• American Express
• Booking.com
• ECA International
• Finance Online
• Global Business Travel Association 
• Investopedia
• Skift and TripActions
• US Department of Transportation
• Associations Now
• Business Travel News
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts
• JTB Business Travel

More From Our Blog

Startup failure rate and 80+ other startling statistics about startups, under the influence – 80+ influencer marketing statistics (infographic), 41 small business statistics: everything you need to know, leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

An official website of the United States government

• Special Topics

Travel and Tourism

Travel and tourism satellite account for 2017-2021.

The travel and tourism industry—as measured by the real output of goods and services sold directly to visitors—increased 64.4 percent in 2021 after decreasing 50.7 percent in 2020, according to the most recent statistics from BEA’s Travel and Tourism Satellite Account.

Data & Articles

• U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2017–2021 By Sarah Osborne - Survey of Current Business February 2023
• "U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2015–2019" By Sarah Osborne - Survey of Current Business December 2020
• "U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2015-2017" By Sarah Osborne and Seth Markowitz - Survey of Current Business June 2018
• Tourism Satellite Accounts 1998-2019
• Tourism Satellite Accounts Data Sheets A complete set of detailed annual statistics for 2017-2021 is coming soon -->
• Article Collection

Documentation

• Product Guide

Previously Published Estimates

• Data Archive This page provides access to an archive of estimates previously published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Please note that this archive is provided for research only. The estimates contained in this archive include revisions to prior estimates and may not reflect the most recent revision for a particular period.
• News Release Archive

What is Travel and Tourism?

Measures how much tourists spend and the prices they pay for lodging, airfare, souvenirs, and other travel-related items. These statistics also provide a snapshot of employment in the travel and tourism industries.

What’s a Satellite Account?

• TTSA Sarah Osborne (301) 278-9459
• News Media Connie O'Connell (301) 278-9003 [email protected]

By Bastian Herre, Veronika Samborska and Max Roser

Tourism has massively increased in recent decades. Aviation has opened up travel from domestic to international. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international visits had more than doubled since 2000.

Tourism can be important for both the travelers and the people in the countries they visit.

For visitors, traveling can increase their understanding of and appreciation for people in other countries and their cultures.

And in many countries, many people rely on tourism for their income. In some, it is one of the largest industries.

But tourism also has externalities: it contributes to global carbon emissions and can encroach on local environments and cultures.

On this page, you can find data and visualizations on the history and current state of tourism across the world.

Interactive Charts on Tourism

Cite this work.

Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources. This topic page can be cited as:

BibTeX citation

Reuse this work freely

All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license . You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.

All of our charts can be embedded in any site.

Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone.

Help us do this work by making a donation.

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Department of Commerce

• Fact Sheets

Was this page helpful?

Fact sheet: 2022 national travel and tourism strategy, office of public affairs.

The 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy was released on June 6, 2022, by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo on behalf of the Tourism Policy Council (TPC). The new strategy focuses the full efforts of the federal government to promote the United States as a premier destination grounded in the breadth and diversity of our communities, and to foster a sector that drives economic growth, creates good jobs, and bolsters conservation and sustainability. Drawing on engagement and capabilities from across the federal government, the strategy aims to support broad-based economic growth in travel and tourism across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia.

The federal government will work to implement the strategy under the leadership of the TPC and in partnership with the private sector, aiming toward an ambitious five-year goal of increasing American jobs by attracting and welcoming 90 million international visitors, who we estimate will spend $279 billion, annually by 2027.

The new National Travel and Tourism Strategy supports growth and competitiveness for an industry that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, generated $1.9 trillion in economic output and supported 9.5 million American jobs. Also, in 2019, nearly 80 million international travelers visited the United States and contributed nearly $240 billion to the U.S. economy, making the United States the global leader in revenue from international travel and tourism. As the top services export for the United States that year, travel and tourism generated a $53.4 billion trade surplus and supported 1 million jobs in the United States.

The strategy follows a four-point approach:

• Promoting the United States as a Travel Destination Goal : Leverage existing programs and assets to promote the United States to international visitors and broaden marketing efforts to encourage visitation to underserved communities.
• Facilitating Travel to and Within the United States Goal : Reduce barriers to trade in travel services and make it safer and more efficient for visitors to enter and travel within the United States.
• Ensuring Diverse, Inclusive, and Accessible Tourism Experiences Goal : Extend the benefits of travel and tourism by supporting the development of diverse tourism products, focusing on under-served communities and populations. Address the financial and workplace needs of travel and tourism businesses, supporting destination communities as they grow their tourism economies. Deliver world-class experiences and customer service at federal lands and waters that showcase the nation’s assets while protecting them for future generations.
• Fostering Resilient and Sustainable Travel and Tourism Goal : Reduce travel and tourism’s contributions to climate change and build a travel and tourism sector that is resilient to natural disasters, public health threats, and the impacts of climate change. Build a sustainable sector that integrates protecting natural resources, supporting the tourism economy, and ensuring equitable development.

Travel and Tourism Fast Facts

• The travel and tourism industry supported 9.5 million American jobs through $1.9 trillion of economic activity in 2019. In fact, 1 in every 20 jobs in the United States was either directly or indirectly supported by travel and tourism. These jobs can be found in industries like lodging, food services, arts, entertainment, recreation, transportation, and education.
• Travel and tourism was the top services export for the United States in 2019, generating a $53.4 billion trade surplus.
• The travel and tourism industry was one of the U.S. business sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent health and travel restrictions, with travel exports decreasing nearly 65% from 2019 to 2020. 
• The decline in travel and tourism contributed heavily to unemployment; leisure and hospitality lost 8.2 million jobs between February and April 2020 alone, accounting for 37% of the decline in overall nonfarm employment during that time. 
• By 2021, the rollout of vaccines and lifting of international and domestic restrictions allowed travel and tourism to begin its recovery. International arrivals to the United States grew to 22.1 million in 2021, up from 19.2 million in 2020. Spending by international visitors also grew, reaching $81.0 billion, or 34 percent of 2019’s total.

More about the Tourism Policy Council and the 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy

Created by Congress and chaired by Secretary Raimondo, the Tourism Policy Council (TPC) is the interagency council charged with coordinating national policies and programs relating to travel and tourism. At the direction of Secretary Raimondo, the TPC created a new five-year strategy to focus U.S. government efforts in support of the travel and tourism sector which has been deeply and disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full strategy here

Share this page

Download WP Travel

Please enter your email to download WP Travel and also get amazing WP Travel offers and Newsletters.

Global Tourism Statistics 2024:Facts and Forecasts

Home » Blog » Global Tourism Statistics 2024:Facts and Forecasts

After the massive hit of the COVID-19 pandemic. Global tourism trends tend to move towards an upward shift. This paradigm shift has a massive impact on tourism and related activities. So, we will delve more into Global Tourism Statistics 2024:Facts and Forecasts today.

There was a subsequent rise in GDP after the COVID-19 pandemic period . Statista predicted in 2022 that the tourism industry will get back on track as tourists tend to be inbound and outbound from place to place.

Table of contents

Global tourism analysis, global tourism statistics 2019, global tourism statistics 2020, global tourism statistics 2021, global tourism statistics 2022, global tourism statistics 202 3, global tourism statistics 2024 | predictive analysis, international tourist arrivals in 2024, global tourism contributions to gdp 2024, global tourism growth rate 2024, global tourism revenue growth rate 2024.

The tourism industry and activities started to flourish after the pandemic. The number started to rise again. Global Tourism Statistics predicted that the travel and tourism business will experience 18% growth in 2024.

This is the highest point after the pandemic period. Hotel bookings, travel, and tourism businesses are expected to reach new heights. Experts suggest it’s the best time to start your own travel and tourism business.

• International tourist arrivals worldwide were around 95,000 at the beginning of 2019.
• The growth rate of tourist arrivals was slower.
• Nearly $1.9 trillion was spent by tourists in 2019.
• Travel receipts were around $9.3 billion in 2019.

Global Tourism was about $8.9 trillion in 2019 . Tourists love to explore beautiful countries. And popular destinations. France tends to hold the Number 1 position in 2019 as more than 90 million tourists visit the country.

(Top 5 visited countries 2019)

Moreover, 2019 tourism was slightly disturbed by covid 19 from July. However, there were many popular destinations loved by tourists worldwide. 

In 2019, the total spending on world tourism reached a peak of $1.86 trillion, showing a growth of 1.81% compared to the previous year. 

This indicates that people tend to spend more on travel and tourism activities, contributing to the overall tourism industry’s economic enhancement. 

The increase in spending suggests a continued interest and investment in tourism experiences on a global scale.

There was a massive decline in the travel and tourism industry in 2020. The tourism industry declined by more than 67% compared to the previous year . This makes one of the greatest downward shifts in the tourism industry ever recorded after subsequent time.

Pacific island Fiji tends to face an economic crisis because of a decline in tourist and tourism activities. Countries relying totally on tourism were more affected this year.

From January to May 2020. International tourist arrivals declined by more than 56% similarly in April it was recorded with a decline of 97%.

(Decline in international tourist arrivals 2019 vs 2022))

The limited movement of people from place to place results in a massive loss for the aviation industry as well. 

Air passenger was reduced by almost 60.2% compared to 2019 . This creates the worst conditions for the airline industry. Among many industries airline industry was one of the most impacted as there was a decline in tourist flow.

• GDP of tourism ( 2.9 of GDP)  $624.7 billion was declined to $356.8 (1.7 of GDP) making it the greatest downfall of all time in tourism history.
• Total number of visitors in 2020 was comparatively low compared with the past 10 years of data.
• Tourism-dependent countries faced a major economic crisis.

Overall global tourism in 2020 didn’t grow that well the unpredictable circumstance has resulted in a massive decline in the GPD as well. There were approximately 1.5 billion tourist arrivals in 2019 and the number declined by more than 75% in 2020 the estimated tourist arrival in 2020 was around 381 million only. Compared with the 2019 tourist arrival the data fluctuation is very high.

The Tourism industry has gone through numerous uptrends and downtrends throughout the period. 2019 ended and 2020 was considered one of the most challenging years for the whole tourism industry. Regarding 2021 the tourism industry starts to rise at a minimal speed. 

In 2021 tourism industry start to gain speed at a minimal rate according to the popular data analytical site Statista. Global tourism worldwide increased by 4% in 2021 compared to 2020.

Matter of fact the international tourist arrival was 79% down compared with the 2019 tourist inbound data.

Recovering from the mass decline of 2020 the tourism industry started to increase with several 64.4% in 2021. The travel and tourism increment number in 2020 was only 50.7% 

(Decline in international tourist arrivals)

In 2021, the US had 22.1 million inbound arrivals, which is a 15% increase from 2020 and a 72% decrease from 2019.

• Overall increment in the tourism industry was recorded at more than 64.4 %
• Export revenues from international tourism dropped 59%.
• In 2021, the travel and tourism industry’s share of GDP increased from 1.54% in 2020 to 2.15% in 2021. 
• Compared to 2019 the contribution of GDP was still down in 2021 ( 49.1% ) only.
• Recovering from the pandemic travel and tourism businesses tend to increase by more than 362 billion dollars.

Regarding 2021 tourism status it has shown a little increment in terms of number compared with the 2020 data. The industry recorded a substantial 64.4% growth , surpassing the incremental rate in 2020.

Export revenues dropped by 59%, while the industry’s share of GDP improved from 1.54% in 2020 to 2.15% in 2021 . Despite signs of recovery, the sector has not reached its growth level in 2020.

Comparing the tourism condition with the year 2021 the number and data start to shift toward an upward curve. Analyzing the data deeply in 2022 total international tourism receipt reached the threshold of $1 trillion which is massive compared to the 2022 number.

However, the total receipts were still not able to reach the number of pre-pandemic. In 2022 more than 900 million tourists travel internationally. 

International tourist spending reached 64% of pre-pandemic levels. 2022 start to maintain sort of momentum to reach the peak point of travel and tourism activities.

   (Travel and tourism contribution over GDP from 2019 to 2022 )

• The total earned export revenue was still below the line ( 34 % ) below pre pre-pandemic level.
• $7.7 trillion contribution to global GDP
• Significant growth in spending of international visitors ( about 20.4% increment )
• 2022 travel and tourism generated more than 22 million new jobs . Significantly high in number compared to 2021 data.

The travel and tourism sector ultimately makes a contribution of 7.7 trillion dollars to global gross domestic product ( GDP ). The number is shifting in an upward trend compared with other previous years. 

The 2022 travel and tourism activities maintained a pace of recovery mode. The industry maintained to level up from the previous year. As it intends to create more jobs and contribute more to the global economy and GDP.

All the dimensions of the tourism industry in 2022  start to evolve and grow over time. Ultimately the revenue received from tourists hit a whopping $1 trillion and more than 900 million people travel globally.

The travel industry solely created millions of jobs and contributed to overall economic growth.

Popular website for travel and tourism data stated that more than 975 million tourists were traveling internationally in the year 2023. Compared with 2021 and 2022 this year seems to be beneficial for travel and tourism industries.

In the first quarter of 2023, there is a spike in the growth of tourist arrivals. International tourist arrival reached 80% of pre-pandemic level. This states that the year 2023 is a sort of recovery year for the tourism industry. After years the industry was able to reach this point.

The travel and tourism industry somehow was able to reach progress similar to the year 2019. Travel bookings were up r oughly 31% at the end of March 2023 compared to the same time in 2019.

The travel and tourism health progress up to 87% in the year 2023. The USA tends to be a prime actor as it was able to accumulate more than $190.39 billion U.S. dollars.

Followed by the supreme country China and Canada.

China accumulated around $154.02 billion U.S. dollars followed by Canada which is $16 billion U.S. dollars.

The total gap between Canada and the USA is around $174.39 billion U.S. dollars respectively. In terms of numbers, these countries seem to do well in the tourism industry.

  (Top 5 Visited Countries 2023 )

• Over 975 million tourists traveled worldwide in 2023 ( Jan to Sep)
• The total projected contribution of travel and tourism was around $2.2 trillion U.S. dollars toward global GDP.
• The total international receipt projected in 2023 was around USD 1.4 trillion .
• Compared with other years in 2023, there were more than 171 nights spent compared to 2022. 
• Rise in tourist traveling rate results into increment in increment in hotel occupancy rate up to 10% higher compared to the previous year.

Airline industries also tend to bounce back as revenues reach more than   $803 billion , Comparatively it’s higher than 2022 as it reached around 9.7%.

Certain external factors do impact the travel business globally. The economic sanctions on Russia by different nations have resulted in delays in travel and tourism as well. Similarly, the zero COVID strategy promulgated by China has also affected the tourism industry overall.

The momentum of global tourism could potentially shift to an upward curve if all external factors don’t interrupt travel and tourism activities.

2024 is regarded as one of the important years for the travel and tourism sector. As the impact of COVID-19 started to overcome the travel and tourism business all across the world started to gain momentum throughout the time.

There are thorough predictions made for 2024 tourism. Multiple analyses tend to show potential opportunities for the tourism sector. From 2019 to 2023 the industry of tourism was scattered by COVID-19 after the interference of COVID-19 the cycle of 2024 tourism got into rollercoaster rides.

However, global tourism spending is predicted to reach $2 trillion in 2024 . After a long period, it’s predicted that international travel trips will exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2024, marking a 3% increase from 2019 .

The overall tourism market will get to a new level. The prediction is that the travel and tourism market will reach $927.30 billion in 2024 . Which is one of the big numbers compared to the previous year’s global tourism statistics.

After lot’s of ups and downs finally the travel and tourism industry is getting into momentum. It’s expected that tourist arrivals in 2024 will increase by 17.23% from the past year i.e. 2023. If the industry can meet the expectation there will be massive changes in the overall tourism business.

• The expected international tourists is about 1.53 billion which is significantly large compared to the previous year.
• the GDP contribution by tourism in 2024 will be 10.6%
• Year-to-year growth in 2024 will be increased by a large number as expectation of over 17.24 % is made.
• Ultimately the revenue will be around US 9.4 billion American dollars .

In 2024, the travel and tourism industry is on the rise after facing challenges. There’s a big anticipation of a 17.23% increase in tourist arrivals compared to 2023.

  (International Tourist Arrival in 2024 )

If this expectation is met, it could bring significant positive changes to the overall tourism business.

The projected number of international tourists for 2024 is a substantial 1.53 billion, a noteworthy increase from the previous year.

The industry’s contribution to the global GDP in 2023 was 10.6%. Looking ahead, there’s an optimistic year-to-year growth forecast of over 17.24% in 2024.

In terms of revenue, the industry is expected to generate around US $9.4 billion . These promising figures indicate a strong recovery and growth for the travel and tourism sector in the coming year.

The travel and tourism industry is getting on track after facing challenges in recent years. For 2024, there is an optimistic growth outlook:

• Tourist arrivals are expected to increase by 17.23% from 2023 . If this matches the expectations, it could bring major positive impacts for the overall tourism business.
• International tourist projections sit at a substantial 1.53 billion for 2024, a significant jump from the previous year’s numbers.
• The industry contributed 10.6% to global GDP in 2023.
• For 2024, year-over-year growth forecasts are a promising 17.24%, indicating strong momentum.
• In terms of revenue generation, the travel sector could reach around USD 9.4 billion.

  (2024 Global Tourism Contribution To GDP)

These numbers and projections point to a rapid recovery and expansion period for international and domestic travel over the coming year.

More people are expected to take vacations and business trips that could greatly benefit tour operators, hotels, airlines, and other travel entities after facing struggles not too long ago.

If the above expectations and forecasts are fulfilled, 2024 is shaping up to be a beneficial year for travel and tourism when looking at tourist arrivals, GDP contributions, growth percentages, and total revenue creation. There seems to be renewed optimism across the sector.

Overall The travel and tourism industry holds a positive growth approach in 2024 according to projections:

• Global tourism saw significant declines in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, momentum picked back up in 2022.
• For 2023, the estimated growth rate in global tourism is between 30% to 35% as the industry rebounds.
• Looking ahead to 2024 , the global tourism growth rate is forecasted to be around 34.7%.
• This would represent a noticeable jump from the expected 30-35% growth in 2023 showing sustained positive momentum.
• If 2024 hits the projected 34.7% in tourism growth , it would take global travel significantly above 2019 volumes indicating a full industry comeback has been achieved.
• This global growth also implies strong performance in major tourism markets across different regions like Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.

  (Global Tourism Growth Rate 2024)

Ultimately, 2024 is setting up to be another very high growth year for travel globally with expectations of over one-third increase in tourism versus 2023 numbers.

All signals point to a sector that has recovered to pre-pandemic strength and managed to undo the large drops observed in 2020 and 2021.

International tourist arrivals are projected to reach 1.53 billion, representing a substantial recovery with an expected year-over-year growth of 17.24% from the 975 million arrivals in 2023.

After facing major challenges in 2020 and 2021, the tourism industry is all set for substantial revenue growth in 2024:

• Global tourism revenue saw a major decline of nearly 50% at the peak of the pandemic. This significantly impacted many travel businesses and destinations.
• A rebound is already underway in 2022 and is expected to continue accelerating through 2023 with an estimated 30-35% growth rate .
• For 2024, global tourism revenues are forecasted to grow around 34.7% year-over-year.
• Gaining a 34.7% revenue growth target would indicate tourism has fully recovered from the pandemic demand shock and is expanding rapidly again.

  (Global Tourism Revenue Growth 2024)

If achieved, 2024 would likely represent the highest-ever revenues for the tourism industry globally surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

The projections for a nearly 35% boost in tourism revenues globally paint an extremely optimistic picture of what lies ahead for the sector in 2024 as demand swells.

It has been made possible with an advent of innovative best tour operator software to launch travel business websites within a short timing.

This rapid growth trajectory beyond 2023 forecasts shows tourism maintaining great momentum as a key recovery success story among industries worldwide.

The overview for tourism in 2024 is highly positive across expected metrics. International tourist arrivals are forecasted to hit 1.5 billion, representing a rapid 17.23% increase from 2023’s estimates, elevating volumes well beyond pre-pandemic levels.

The sector’s contribution to global GDP, which recorded 10.6% in 2023, is also expected to rise considerably in 2024, reflecting its full rise in economic impact. Most notably, tourism revenues could grow up to 34.7% year-over-year, reaching around $9.4 billion globally .

This Global Tourism Statistics 2024:Facts and Forecasts would be the highest growth rate realized since before the COVID-19 downturn,, these projections point to 2024 being a standout year as the industry looks positively to completely negate pandemic losses and reach new historical highs across metrics like tourist arrivals, revenues, and GDP.

Yam Bahadur Chhetri is a content writer and vivid contributor to the WordPress community and a WordPress enthusiast with an experience of 7+ years in the relative field. He also loves to develop WordPress Themes, Plugins, and custom WordPress development for clients.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Join 6000+ WP Travel Users Community Subscribe the newsletter to get new offers, discounts, and product updates frequently.

Get WP Travel Pro

Create Stunning , SEO friendly and Fully functional Travel website within minutes . No Coding Required !

Suitable for any

• Travel Agency
• Tour Booking Services
• Travel Bloggers

Drive more Sales and Revenues from today !

$ 99 99 USD per year

📢 Santa has sent the gift for Christmas and New Year sales on all WP Travel Pro plans. 🛍️ Use coupon code "XMAS_NEWYEAR2024" at checkout.

Related posts

How to Start a Travel Agency Business in Nepal? (Guide)

10 Creative Travel Marketing Ideas to Succeed in 2024

WooCommerce Payment Gateways for Travel Websites

Wp travel modules.

Need more features to save your time and to boost your travel business? WP Travel Pro comes with more powerful modules . While our core travel plugin provides almost all the features that a travel and trekking websites generally needs, our add-ons boost it’s capacity further to make it the best travel engine on WordPress. Whether you want to add new payment method to your site or brush up your trekking listings with beautiful maps show casing your trips, we have all your imagination covered. See all our add ons below to boost your travel website’s features further.

Weather Forecast

Import Export

Partial Payment

Connect with wp travel to join the travel conversation, documentation →.

Explore More

Customer Support →

We are here to help.

Facebook Group →

User Community Forum

Follow On Twitter →

Connect with us on Twitter

Advertisement

Cities in the eclipse’s path are getting an economic ‘shot in the arm.’

Millions of tourists trying to experience the totality could bolster smaller economies across North America.

• Share full article

By Santul Nerkar and J. Edward Moreno

• April 8, 2024

A vast swath of North America will soon be plunged into darkness. Though momentary, the total solar eclipse on Monday has already proved lucrative.

Across the United States, Mexico and Canada, towns and villages have been planning what could be the biggest tourist attraction for many small cities. Larger areas that are more accustomed to hosting events are nonetheless expecting a significant windfall.

“We don’t usually have this kind of tourism — it’s not common,” said Edgar Augusto González-Zatarain, the mayor of Mazatlán, Mexico. “Nature is giving us this opportunity, and we have to take advantage of it.”

Various indicators suggest the eclipse will bolster the economies in the path of totality, a roughly 110-mile-wide belt that will stretch from Mazatlán to Montreal. Hertz said car reservations had jumped 3,000 percent from a year ago. Airbnb has reported a 1,000 percent increase in searches for listings. In Oklahoma, the Choctaw Nation had seen a 200 percent increase as of mid-March in reservations at its resorts and casinos.

Mazatlán has long relied heavily on its port and fisheries, but the beach town has had growth in tourism, which now accounts for 80 percent of its economy. Still, it is often overshadowed by other Mexican resort towns and has had recent instances of cartel violence that may spook tourists. Mazatlán will experience the eclipse longer than many other cities, at more than four minutes. Hotels there are fully booked, and officials expect 120,000 visitors and an economic output of 500 million pesos (about $30 million).

Indianapolis is expecting roughly 100,000 visitors for the eclipse, said Chris Gahl, the chief executive of the city’s tourism marketing organization, who estimates the visitors will bring in $28 million to $48 million for the city. The city is used to hosting major events — including this year’s N.B.A. All-Star Game and the N.F.L.’s scouting combine — but the eclipse is a chance for the city to promote more of its arts and culture scene.

“We view hosting and being in the path of totality as an opportunity to diversify and broaden the audiences that might consider visiting Indy,” Mr. Gahl said.

Tourism officials in Austin, Texas, reported higher-than-usual hotel occupancy rates for the weekend before and the day of the eclipse. The city has the highest hotel inventory per capita in the state and is used to handling large influxes of tourists for events like South by Southwest and the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

“Our city is very much prepared and very experienced with large events and large influxes of people coming into the city,” said Wesley Lucas, a spokeswoman for Austin’s tourism marketing organization.

Bulent Temel, an economics professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, estimated that eclipse tourism would add $285 million to the state’s economy. In an opinion essay, he called the event “ the most profitable 22 minutes in Texas history .”

But towns in the Texas Hill Country, which offers a better view of the eclipse, are far less accustomed to such events. Kerrville, a town of roughly 25,000, is preparing for its population to more than triple, town officials said.

The tourist-attracting event also presents a potential nuisance for public safety. Business owners and town officials have been preparing for several years, drawing on the experiences of the 2017 eclipse.

“This is going to be a great big economic shot in the arm for us,” said William Thomas, the emergency management coordinator for Kerr County, which includes Kerrville. “At the same time, it’s also going to be a tremendous drain on resources.”

Doug Hetzler, the manager of Gibson’s Discount Center in Kerrville, said his store was staying open longer during the week leading up to the eclipse and stocking its shelves with Moon Pies and wind chimes.

Mr. Hetzler said the store would offer a deal for tourists looking for precious space to park their cars during the event: Parking costs $50, but if you spend $100 in the store, you get that $50 back.

Mr. Hetzler hopes that the eclipse, more than creating a financial windfall, gives visitors a lasting impression of a town — and an old-time store — that they otherwise might not visit.

“Our opportunity is really to expose people to a store like this and a culture like this,” he said.

Santul Nerkar is a reporter covering business and sports. More about Santul Nerkar

J. Edward Moreno is a business reporter at The Times. More about J. Edward Moreno

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

Global and regional tourism performance

• international tourist arrivals and receipts and export revenues
• international tourism expenditure and departures
• Seasonality
• Tourism Flows
• Accommodation
• Tourism GDP and Employment
• Domestic Tourism

The UNWTO Tourism Data Dashboard – provides statistics and insights on key indicators for inbound and outbound tourism at the global, regional and national levels. Data covers tourist arrivals, tourism receipts, tourism share of exports and contribution to GDP, source markets, seasonality, domestic tourism and data on accommodation and employment.

Millions of people are traveling to see the total eclipse. Hotels, motels, and skydiving operators are making bank on it.

• Millions of tourists are expected to boost economies in Texas and New York during the eclipse.
• Hotels, an eyeglasses manufacturer, and even skydiving companies are preparing for increased business.
• One study predicted that the eclipse could benefit the US economy with nearly $1.6 billion.

As millions of Americans get ready to watch the total solar eclipse on Monday — an event NASA has described as rare and "spectacular" — the phenomenon stands to lift local economies.

Various industries are poised to benefit from the millions of tourists flocking to cities in Texas, Ohio, and New York , which are on the eclipse's "path of totality" and offer the best views of the ring around the sun.

According to NASA, this year's eclipse is set to last three to four minutes, longer than the last solar eclipse , in 2017. People who miss this one will not be able to see another in the contiguous US until 2044 or 2045, the agency said.

Up to 3.7 million people are set to travel to the path of the eclipse, joining the 31 million people already living along the stretch, according to predictions by the eclipse-tracking website Great American Eclipse .

Visitors are expected to spend big: They'll shell out up to $1.6 billion on lodging, activities, food, and gas, the Texas economic consultancy Perryman Group estimated .

Here are some of the industries seeing big boosts from Monday's eclipse.

Hotels and Airbnbs book out

The budget hotel chain Super 8 has over 300 locations within the path of totality, per The New York Times. About 100 of these hotels are sold out for Sunday or Monday, according to the chain's website.

One two-star Super 8 branch in Grayville, Illinois, is advertising rooms for between $765 and $950 from Sunday through Tuesday. On most days, the rooms typically cost $80, the Super 8 website shows.

Higher-end hotels are seeing similar spikes. A JW Marriott in Dallas listed a standard room for $1,039 for Sunday night. It typically costs between $355 and $482, the website said.

Related stories

Visitors are flocking to Airbnbs, too. As of March 25, occupancy rates for April 7 soared to 88% across 110,000 active listings on the path of totality, according to the vacation-rental-data company AirDNA.

The biggest glasses manufacturer has sold out

People can permanently damage their eyesight by looking straight into the sun during an eclipse, so NASA recommends specific solar-filtering glasses .

The eye-protection guidelines translated into huge sales for some glasses manufacturers.

Tennessee's American Paper Optics, the country's largest producer of protective eclipse eyeglasses, has seen a big jump in sales compared with the total eclipse in 2017.

The company started taking eclipse orders two years in advance, John Jerit, the company's founder, told NPR on Friday. The glasses sold for $1.50 to $2 apiece.

"We've shipped already about 70 million glasses, and I suspect I'm going to approach right at 75 million by the time next week comes," Jerit said.

American Paper Optics sold out of glasses this year after producing about 30 million more glasses than it did for the total solar eclipse in 2017, according to a sales figure on the company's site .

Eclipse skydiving attracts thrill seekers

Some adrenaline junkies seeking a novel vantage point are planning to jump during totality to enjoy the darkness from the sky.

A group of 30 skydivers plans to jump in northern New York on Monday, Fox News reported . Tickets for the dive, hosted by the local company Skydive the Falls, sold out in seven minutes after they went live in January.

"We're going to jump one minute prior to totality, so we can enjoy totality in full under our parachutes," Jason Berger, a co-owner of Skydive the Falls, told Fox News.

A similar event in Dallas sold out of its $250 eclipse skydive tickets, too.

For sun observers on the ground, restaurants are making the most of the celestial phenomenon with eclipse menus and specials. Establishments like Smoothie King, Applebee's, and Sonic are offering special eclipse-themed smoothies and margaritas, as well as "blackout" drinks to mark the occasion.

Watch: A small Australian town was treated to a rare hybrid solar eclipse

• Main content

• Travel, Tourism & Hospitality ›

Business Travel

Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). A paid subscription is required for full access.

• Inbound business travel volume in selected countries worldwide 2019

Number of international business tourist arrivals in selected countries worldwide in 2019 (in millions)

• Immediate access to 1m+ statistics
• Incl. source references
• Download as PNG, PDF, XLS, PPT

Additional Information

Show sources information Show publisher information Use Ask Statista Research Service

January 2021

*Including same-day tourists. Based on data provided by official sources from each country. Figures were rounded.

Other statistics on the topic Global business travel

• Largest exhibition halls worldwide 2022, by gross hall capacity
• Global business travel spending 2001-2022
• Growth rate of global business travel spending 2001-2026
• Challenges of the global exhibition and trade show industry 2022

To download this statistic in XLS format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PNG format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PDF format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PPT format you need a Statista Account

As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.

As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic.

As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail.

… to incorporate the statistic into your presentation at any time.

You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature.

• Immediate access to statistics, forecasts & reports
• Usage and publication rights
• Download in various formats

You only have access to basic statistics. This statistic is not included in your account.

• Instant access  to 1m statistics
• Download  in XLS, PDF & PNG format
• Detailed  references

Business Solutions including all features.

Statistics on " Global business travel "

• Global corporate travel market size 2020-2028
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure worldwide 2019-2022, by type
• Countries with highest business travel spending 2023
• World's main travel agencies 2020, by sales share
• Expectations of business travel providers about revenue at their companies 2022
• Buyers' expectations about business travel volume at their companies 2022
• Global MICE industry size 2019-2030
• Number of international organization meetings worldwide 2015-2021
• Share of international organization meetings worldwide 2001-2020, by region
• Outlook on event spaces available in hotels worldwide 2022
• Hoteliers' predicted business event spend worldwide 2022
• Preferred corporate events' setup worldwide 2023, by region
• COVID-19 impact on exhibitions and trade shows worldwide 2020
• Operation of the global exhibition industry 2022-2023
• Main influencing aspects to exhibit at trade shows 2020-2021
• Comparison between digital and live exhibitions by visitors worldwide 2021
• World's best-rated destination countries for non-leisure tourists 2021
• Countries planning the largest number of business events and trade fairs 2023
• Main country destinations for business meetings 2022
• World's main cities for MICE tourism 2020
• World's highest-priced business travel destinations Q4 2022
• Highest hotel expenses in business travel destinations Q4 2022
• COVID-19: main barriers for international business tourism worldwide 2022
• Impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on business outcomes 2022
• Change in business travel bookings for travel suppliers 2021-2022
• Tourism professionals' outlook for global business travel 2022-2023
• Employees' disposition towards business travel worldwide 2020-2023
• Most stressful factors of flying for work purposes 2022, by travel phase
• Change in interest in bleisure travel by global corporate travel managers 2023

Other statistics that may interest you Global business travel

Business travel market

• Premium Statistic Global corporate travel market size 2020-2028
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure worldwide 2019-2022, by type
• Premium Statistic Global business travel spending 2001-2022
• Premium Statistic Growth rate of global business travel spending 2001-2026
• Premium Statistic Countries with highest business travel spending 2023
• Premium Statistic World's main travel agencies 2020, by sales share
• Premium Statistic Expectations of business travel providers about revenue at their companies 2022
• Premium Statistic Buyers' expectations about business travel volume at their companies 2022

Association meetings and events

• Basic Statistic Global MICE industry size 2019-2030
• Premium Statistic Number of international organization meetings worldwide 2015-2021
• Premium Statistic Share of international organization meetings worldwide 2001-2020, by region
• Premium Statistic Outlook on event spaces available in hotels worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Hoteliers' predicted business event spend worldwide 2022
• Premium Statistic Preferred corporate events' setup worldwide 2023, by region

Exhibitions and trade shows

• Premium Statistic COVID-19 impact on exhibitions and trade shows worldwide 2020
• Premium Statistic Operation of the global exhibition industry 2022-2023
• Premium Statistic Main influencing aspects to exhibit at trade shows 2020-2021
• Premium Statistic Challenges of the global exhibition and trade show industry 2022
• Premium Statistic Comparison between digital and live exhibitions by visitors worldwide 2021
• Premium Statistic Largest exhibition halls worldwide 2022, by gross hall capacity

Destinations

• Premium Statistic World's best-rated destination countries for non-leisure tourists 2021
• Premium Statistic Countries planning the largest number of business events and trade fairs 2023
• Premium Statistic Main country destinations for business meetings 2022
• Premium Statistic World's main cities for MICE tourism 2020
• Premium Statistic World's highest-priced business travel destinations Q4 2022
• Premium Statistic Highest hotel expenses in business travel destinations Q4 2022
• Premium Statistic Inbound business travel volume in selected countries worldwide 2019

Business travel amid COVID-19

• Premium Statistic COVID-19: main barriers for international business tourism worldwide 2022
• Basic Statistic Impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on business outcomes 2022
• Premium Statistic Change in business travel bookings for travel suppliers 2021-2022
• Premium Statistic Tourism professionals' outlook for global business travel 2022-2023
• Premium Statistic Employees' disposition towards business travel worldwide 2020-2023
• Premium Statistic Most stressful factors of flying for work purposes 2022, by travel phase
• Premium Statistic Change in interest in bleisure travel by global corporate travel managers 2023

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well