Global business travel professionals are “cautiously optimistic” for 2026, despite worries about the affordability of travel, employee safety and plans to tighten US border and visa requirements, according to a new survey by the GBTA.
The poll of 571 industry professionals from 40 countries, conducted earlier this month, found that 59 per cent were optimistic about the year ahead, with another 31 per cent having a neutral outlook compared to 2025.
Although the impact of trade, cross-border and economic headwinds has had an impact on overall sentiment among travel buyers, with their outlook for 2026 decreasing by 12 percentage points compared with a poll looking at 2025's prospects, conducted in late 2024.
Affordability of business travel was the top concern for 70 per cent of travel buyers, while worries about obtaining travel permits and visas ranked second at 65 per cent.
US government proposals to impose stricter requirements for travellers using the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) scheme, is impacting respondents whose organisations regularly send staff to the US, with 78 per cent either “very” or “somewhat” concerned about these changes.
European travel professionals are particularly concerned about privacy when travelling to the US, with two in three (67 per cent) saying their employees would rather not travel to the US than provide increased levels of personal information.
The survey reveals that the proposed ESTA changes could lead to more companies holding meetings outside the US, as well as potentially decreasing the volume of business travel to the US, and even changing policies to limit travel to the destination.
Budgets on the rise
According to the GBTA survey, most buyers (84 per cent) expect their spending on business travel to either increase or stay at 2025 levels, with only 13 per cent of respondents forecasting a year-on-year drop in spending.
When it comes to travel volumes, 35 per cent of buyers expect more trips to be taken this year than in 2025, while 47 per cent are forecasting a similar level of trips to last year. Although, 25 per cent of buyers based in the EMEA region are anticipating a decrease in travel volumes in 2026.
In terms of travel budgets, 30 per cent of buyers are expecting an increase in 2026, with another 45 per cent forecasting parity with last year. Only 18 per cent of respondents say they are likely to see their travel budgets being cut this year.
Challenges for 2026
Nearly 60 per cent of buyers cited the challenge of balancing cost controls with traveller satisfaction as a major issue in 2026, with 58 per cent concerned about prices rising above budget. European travel professionals are feeling the pinch more than their peers in North America or APAC, with 75 per cent concerned over cost controls and a further 67 per cent highlighting price hikes as a key challenge.
Around half of global buyers (52 per cent) are concerned about the quality of service from their TMC, while 42 per cent have worries about the level of internal support for the travel programme within their organisations.
On the operational front, buyers highlighted missing content within corporate booking tools as an issue (63 per cent of EMEA buyers) and “figuring out” how to use AI (70 per cent of EMEA buyers) as their top challenges for 2026, alongside leakage from their travel programmes (45 per cent of EMEA buyers).
“The results show an industry propelled by anticipated stronger demand and financial indicators. Yet there is potential for disruption caused by external factors reshaping business travel in the year ahead,” summed up Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA.