Business travel globally grew by 3.5% in 2016, according to research from the GBTA.
Total spend on business travel reached almost US$1.3 trillion during last year, according to the GBTA BTI™ Outlook — Annual Global Report & Forecast. However, the organisation forecasts faster growth in the next three years — 6.1% in 2018 and then around 7.0% in both 2019 and 2020.
However, the story varies dramatically according to which country you look at. Business travel in India grew by 11.4% to US$33 billion in 2016 and by 9.2% to US$317.97 billion in China. At the other end of the scale, Brazil´s business travel spending fell by 10.4% to US$27.2 bllion.
In Europe, there are also wide differences. In Germany, spend grew by 7.4% to US$68.2 billion in 2016. In the UK, spend rose by 6.9% to US$50.4 billion. The Netherlands saw spend rise by just 1.2%. The top 15 countries are shown in this week's chart below.
Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO, said, "Stronger footing in emerging markets and continued economic stimulus in the developed world has supported global stability leading to a positive forecast that is unfortunately clouded with more uncertainty than we have seen in decades."
The organisation says that there are good signs of an improving global economy. "Consumers are spending, trade and investment are finally on the rise, corporate profits and management sentiment are strong, commodity prices have stabilised, recessions in Brazil, Russia and Argentina have ended, and China's soft landing continues. Taking these factors into account, business travel growth looks solid over the coming years," it said.
That said, it noted that political polices, geopolitical tensions and financial concerns have intensified.