A volatile start to 2026 has put business travellers and travel managers on edge, even as some suppliers have boasted booming January business travel demand. The geopolitical mechanisms driving the uncertainty – tariffs, tightening borders, military invasions and the threat of land grabs, many of which have been initiated by the United States but also are not limited to the US – have bigger implications than travel, but also include it.

BTN editors in the following coverage interviewed experts about changing political alliances that could morph business relationships, re-organise trade routes, re-structure business travel partnerships and definitely scramble corporate travel patterns. Some predict a retreat to more domestic and regional interests in an environment of de-globalisation and tightening borders.

The following reporting offers analysis of the big picture as well as the practical implications for travellers and travel managers.