Welcome to our curated and vetted list of 33+ business travel statistics for 2024.
Top Business Travel Statistics
- In 2021, the global business travel market was worth $689.7B, and it’s expected to grow to $2.1T by 2031, with a 9.5% CAGR between 2022 and 2031.
- Global business tourism spending reached an estimated $1,357B in 2023, and it’s forecast to reach $1,782B in 2027.
- It’s estimated that US travelers will take 447M domestic business trips in 2024.
- Business travelers typically take about 1.8 trips monthly.
- In 2022, attending daily business meetings and events cost corporate travelers $160.
- Business travelers typically spend $1,018 per trip.
Business Travel Volume and Frequency
01. It’s estimated that US travelers will take 447M domestic business trips in 2024.
| US Domestic Business Trips: 2019–2022 Data and Projections Through 2026 | In Billions |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 0.46 |
| 2020 | 0.18 |
| 2021 | 0.25 |
| 2022 | 0.37 |
| 2023* | 0.41 |
| 2024* | 0.45 |
| 2025* | 0.47 |
| 2026* | 0.48 |
02. In 2024, the US is expected to see an 8% increase in domestic business trips compared to the previous year.
| US Domestic Business Trip Growth: 2017–2026 | In % |
|---|---|
| 2017 | -0.10 |
| 2018 | 1.20 |
| 2019 | 1.10 |
| 2020 | -61 |
| 2021 | 38.10 |
| 2022 | 48.40 |
| 2023 | 11.60 |
| 2024 | 8 |
| 2025 | 4.90 |
| 2026 | 3 |
03. Business travelers typically take about 1.8 trips monthly.
| US Business Travelers’ Average Monthly Trips by Type | Q3 2022 |
|---|---|
| Internal meetings | 0.60 |
| Customer and stakeholder meetings | 0.70 |
| Conferences and trade shows | 0.50 |
| Total | 1.80 |
04. Business travelers typically spend $1,018 per trip.
Sources: GBTA, Statista, US Travel Association #1, US Travel Association #2
Global and Regional Business Travel Spending
05. In 2021, the global business travel market was worth $689.7B, and it’s expected to grow to $2.1T by 2031, with a 9.5% CAGR between 2022 and 2031.
06. By 2024, global business travel is predicted to rebound to its pre-pandemic level of $1.4T and expand to almost $1.8T by 2027.
| Global Business Travel Spending: 2015–2027 | In Billion USD |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,218 |
| 2016 | 1,261 |
| 2017 | 1,334 |
| 2018 | 1,410 |
| 2019 | 1,431 |
| 2020 | 661 |
| 2021 | 697 |
| 2022 | 1,027 |
| 2023 | 1,357 |
| 2024* | 1,517 |
| 2025* | 1,621 |
| 2026* | 1,703 |
| 2027* | 1,782 |
07. Global business travel spending will rise by 12.2% in 2024.
| Change in Expenditure of Global Business Tourists: 2017–2022 and Projections through 2026 | In % |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 5.80 |
| 2018 | 5.70 |
| 2019 | 1.50 |
| 2020 | -53.80 |
| 2021 | 5.50 |
| 2022 | 33.80 |
| 2023 | 24.20 |
| 2024 | 12.20 |
| 2025 | 7.70 |
| 2026 | 5.20 |
08. In 2023, China’s business travel spending was expected to hit $360.756B, with the US following at $329,123B.
| Global Business Travel Expenditure by Country (2023) | In Million USD |
|---|---|
| China | 360.76 |
| United States | 329.12 |
| Germany | 69.90 |
| Japan | 65.42 |
| United Kingdom | 43.51 |
| France | 41.89 |
| Italy | 34.34 |
| South Korea | 32.74 |
| India | 32.30 |
| Brazil | 28.13 |
09. Business travel made up 24.6% of the US’s tourism spending in 2022.
| Business Tourism Spending in Top Global Travel Markets (2022) | In % |
|---|---|
| United States | 24.60 |
| China | 15.60 |
| Germany | 16.20 |
| United Kingdom | 29.20 |
| Japan | 16.20 |
| France | 16 |
| Mexico | 5 |
| Italy | 16.40 |
| India | 4.70 |
| Spain | 11.90 |
| Brazil | 9.20 |
10. Though just 20% of trip volume, business travelers represent 40–60% of air and lodging revenue in the travel industry.
11. Business travel directly supported 1.3M jobs in 2022.
12. Amazon’s US air ticket purchases totaled $483M in 2022, making it North America’s top corporate travel spender.
| Leading US Corporate Travel Spenders by Air Booking Volume (2022) | In Million USD |
|---|---|
| Amazon | 483 |
| Deloitte | 284 |
| Apple | 210 |
| Danaher | 200 |
| FedEx | 188 |
| Meta | 185.50 |
| 151 | |
| The Boeing Company | 148 |
| Lockheed Martin Corp. | 145.50 |
| RTX Corp. | 145 |
| McKinsey | 143 |
| EY | 138.60 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 130 |
| The Walt Disney Co. | 120 |
| Bank of America | 119 |
| PwC | 116 |
| BCG | 115 |
| The World Bank | 96.50 |
| Siemens | 95 |
| Gilead | 85 |
13. The global meetings industry is expected to reach around $1.35B by 2024.
| Global MICE Industry Size: 2019–2030 | In Billion USD |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 0.92 |
| 2020 | 0.84 |
| 2021 | 1.13 |
| 2022 | 1.20 |
| 2023 | 1.27 |
| 2024 | 1.35 |
| 2025 | 1.42 |
| 2026 | 1.49 |
| 2027 | 1.56 |
| 2028 | 1.64 |
| 2029 | 1.71 |
| 2030 | 1.78 |
Sources: Allied Market Research, Business Travel News, GBTA, Next Move Strategy Consulting, Statista #1, Statista #2, US Travel Association
Costs and Expenditures in Business Travel
14. In 2022, attending daily business meetings and events cost corporate travelers $160.
15. The average business airfare ticket price was $749 in 2022.
16. In 2022, the average daily hotel rate for business travel was $161.
17. In Q4 2022, New York became the world’s most expensive city for business tourism, with an average daily cost of over $645.
| Most Expensive Cities for Worldwide Business Tourism by Average Daily Expenses (Q4 2022) | In USD |
|---|---|
| New York (United States) | 647.07 |
| Zurich (Switzerland) | 553.32 |
| Milan (Italy) | 514.20 |
| Paris (France) | 511.75 |
| London (United Kingdom) | 508.75 |
| Tel Aviv (Israel) | 488.69 |
| San Francisco (United States) | 478.16 |
| Geneva (Switzerland) | 472.92 |
| Basel (Switzerland) | 472.83 |
| Oslo (Norway) | 464 |
18. In 2022, Fort Lauderdale was the US’s most expensive city for business travel in terms of car rental costs.
| Most Expensive US Business Travel Cities for Car Rentals (Q4 2022) | In USD |
|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | 84.22 |
| New York, NY | 72.09 |
| White Plains, NY | 70.05 |
| Mobile, AL | 66.42 |
| San Francisco, CA | 62.90 |
| Newark, NJ | 61.97 |
| New Orleans, LA | 60.17 |
| Rochester, MN | 59.30 |
| Columbia, SC | 58.81 |
| Harrisburg, PA | 56.66 |
Sources: Business Travel News #1, Business Travel News #2, Skift
Corporate Travel Policies
19. Some 86% of employees report that today’s uncertain economy affected their company’s business travel.20. As of Q1 2023, 83% of executives view business travel as essential.
21. Over a third (38%) of workers believe business travel is crucial for keeping abreast of the latest trends, technology, and advancements.
22. A significant 62% of global business travelers feel they’ve lacked equal business travel opportunities compared to colleagues, often due to age, accent, or gender.
23. Nearly 35% of executives feel reduced business travel hinders their company’s competitive edge.
24. About 46% of corporate execs cite critical relationships as the top factor in authorizing travel for client visits.
| Top Non-monetary Factors in Travel Authorization for Customer Visits, as per Corporate Executives (Q1 2023) | In % |
|---|---|
| Critical customer, supplier, or other stakeholder relationship(s) | 46 |
| Ability to meet with multiple customers or suppliers at once | 44 |
| Customer, supplier, or other stakeholder is located within driving distance of the employee | 41 |
| Customer, supplier, or other stakeholder is located where there are many direct flight options | 36 |
| Introducing a new product or service | 35 |
| Length of time since prior in-person meeting | 27 |
| Closing sales | 26 |
| Adequate seat availability on flights to the customer, supplier, or other stakeholder location | 25 |
| Other | 3 |
25. Budget constraints within the company or department (36.5%) are the leading factor for restricting business travel.
26. The top reasons for business travelers skipping or calling off air trips for customer visits in the last year were the total flight time (40%) and the risk of delays or cancellations (26%).
27. Most executives (75%) favor employees extending business trips for leisure, with 86% endorsing remote work from anywhere.
28. Nearly half (45%) of business travelers add at least one leisure night to their business trips.
29. The main reason for extending business trips for leisure is exploring the destination (36%), followed by already-paid transport costs (31%).
30. Almost half (48%) of business travelers choose their own booking platforms.
| Common Booking Practices Among Business Travelers | In % |
|---|---|
| I book on a platform of my choice | 48 |
| I book via a company platform | 27 |
| Someone else books for me | 25 |
31. Two-thirds (66%) of business travelers worldwide receive a corporate credit card from their company.
32. About 64% of business travelers with a corporate card add it to a mobile wallet.
33. Most (91%) business travelers would refuse an assigned trip if it conflicted with their needs, values, and preferences.
Sources: Concur, GBTA, Morning Consult, SAP News, US Travel Association
Stacking It All Up
That concludes our deep dive into business travel statistics.
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