Business travel is outperforming the overall UK economy so far this year, according to data from the GTMC.
The groupsaid that total transactions from its TMC members had grown by 3 per cent year-on-year for the first three months of 2016. By comparison, UK gross domestic product only rose by 0.4 per cent over the same period.
The biggest growth sector has been rail travel with the number of transactions increasing by 6 per cent, while air bookings have risen by 2 per cent year-on-year.
GTMC chief executive Paul Wait said: “We remain cautiously positive for business travel transactions this year.
“While we don’t assume that the levels of growth we have seen in the first quarter of the year will continue to outpace the economy’s performance, TMCs are doing a great job to help their clients get the best value out of their business travel budgets.
“Ongoing drives for business efficiency being realised by TMCs is helping our members prove their value to clients.”
At its overseas conference last month, GTMC unveiled research from Oxford Economics showing that business travel is a significant and direct factor in driving economic growth.