Welcome to our curated and vetted list of business travel statistics.
Let’s dive right in:
Top Business Travel Statistics
- In 2024, the global business travel market was worth $1.63T, and it’s expected to grow to $2.75T by 2030, with a 9.1% CAGR between 2024 and 2030.
- Global business tourism spending reached an estimated $1.57T in 2025, and it’s forecast to surpass $2T in 2029.
- It’s estimated that US travelers took 470M domestic business trips in 2025.
- Business travelers typically take about 1.8 trips per month.
- Attending business meetings and events costs corporate travelers $160 per person daily.
- Business travelers from US-based companies typically spend $1,771 per trip. For decision makers, this figure rises to $1,986.
Business Travel Volume and Frequency
01. It’s estimated that US travelers took 470M domestic business trips in 2025.
| 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 2026, the US is expected to see a 3% 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 | Share |
| Internal meetings | 0.6 |
| Customer and stakeholder meetings | 0.7 |
| Conferences and trade shows | 0.5 |
| Total | 1.8 |
04. Business travelers from US-based companies typically spend $1,771 per trip. For decision makers, this figure rises to $1,986.
Sources: Booking, GBTA, Statista, US Travel Association #1, US Travel Association #2
Global and Regional Business Travel Spending
05. In 2024, the global business travel market was worth $1.63T, and it’s expected to grow to $2.75T by 2030, with a 9.1%% CAGR between 2024 and 2030.
06. Global business tourism spending reached an estimated $1.57T in 2025, and it’s forecast to surpass $2T in 2029.
07. Global business travel spending will rise by 5.2% in 2026.
| 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 2024, China’s business travel spending was expected to hit $373B.
09. Though just 20% of trip volume, business travelers represent 40–60% of air and lodging revenue in the travel industry.
10. Business travel directly supports 1.3M jobs.
11. Amazon bought about $483M worth of airline tickets in the US in 2023.
12. The global meetings industry is expected to reach around $1.49B by 2026.
| 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
13. Attending business meetings and events costs corporate travelers $160 per person daily.
14. The average business airfare ticket price is around $705.
15. The global average daily hotel rate for business travel is $165.
16. In Q4 2024, New York became the world’s most expensive city for business tourism, with an average daily cost of around $660.
17. In 2024, New York was the US’s most expensive city for business travel in terms of car rental costs, with the average daily car rental rate amounting to nearly $74.
Sources: Business Travel News #1, Business Travel News #2, Skift
Corporate Travel Policies
18. 83% of executives view business travel as essential.
19. Over a third (38%) of workers believe business travel is crucial for keeping abreast of the latest trends, technology, and advancements.
20. 62% of global business travelers feel they’ve lacked equal business travel opportunities compared to their colleagues, often due to factors such as age, accent, or gender.
21. 35% of executives feel reduced business travel hinders their company’s competitive edge.
22. 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 | 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 |
23. Budget constraints within the company or department (36.5%) are the leading factor for restricting business travel.
24. The top reasons for business travelers skipping or calling off air trips for customer visits were the total flight time (40%) and the risk of delays or cancellations (26%).
25. Most executives (75%) favor employees extending business trips for leisure, with 86% endorsing remote work from anywhere.
26. Nearly half (45%) of business travelers add at least one leisure night to their business trips.
27. The main reason for extending business trips for leisure is exploring the destination (36%), followed by already-paid transport costs (31%).
28. 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 |
29. Two-thirds (66%) of business travelers worldwide receive a corporate credit card from their company.
30. About 64% of business travelers with a corporate card add it to a mobile wallet.
31. Most (91%) business travelers would refuse an assigned trip if it conflicted with their needs, values, and preferences.
Sources: GBTA, SAP News, US Travel Association
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