"Will exceed $986bn a year by 2013" - NBTA
A new study of global business spend has revealed it is set to expand over the next four years and could reach $986bn per annum by 2013.
The study said growth of business travel spend in China is likely to out pace growth in the US.
The research was conducted by IHS Global Insight in 72 countries on behalf of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and online agency Egencia, part of the Expedia group.
It found that over the past decade, business travel spend had grown by just over 2% in the mature market of North America, by 4.6% in Europe and 7.2% in Asia Pacific.
In the emerging markets of Europe and Middle East/Africa, the study found growth was 12.4% and 7.7% respectively.
But looking ahead, it predicted that growth in China and Japan over the next five years will exceed that in the US.
It added that developing nations, like India, Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia will experience "significant compound annual growth rates" as well.
Currently North America, Europe and Asia Pacific account for 90% of business travel spend - about 30% each, said the survey.
The remaining 10% was spent in Latin America, Emerging Europe and the Middle East Africa.
The US is currently the biggest spender with 28% ($261bn) of the total global spend, followed by China with 10% and Japan with 8%.
Kenneth McGill, NBTA research consultant and lead analyst on the IHS Global Insight report, said: "This study shows that business travel spend has increased by more than 35% since 1998, making it an impactful industry in the global economy.
"Most of this growth has been due to an expanding global economy and the rising dispersion of business travel activity around the world."
The report found that "Asia Pacific is poised for substantial growth over the next five years, while US growth is expected to stagnate.
"China's spend, at $93.8bn in 2008, has tripled over the past 10 years and is expected to lead market growth between 2008 and 2013, followed by Japan and South Korea."
Kevin Maguire, NBTA's president and ceo, said: "This study is the most comprehensive look at the global business travel industry available today."
Rob Greyber, Egencia's president, said: "Developing countries are proving to be fertile business-travel areas.
"Over the next five years, we'll see countries like India and China grow at rates of 5.3% and 6.5% respectively, versus the US projected growth rate of 0.3%."
He added: "The increase in productivity highlights several major shifts within our industry.
"Stronger travel management and greater efficiency when travelling have both contributed to this change, essentially driving down business travel spend per revenue dollar.
"This development should be a key consideration in programme planning."
www.nbta.org www.globalinsight.com www.egencia.com