Total 2024 business travel spending within the United States increased about 7.5 percent year over year to a record $538.5 billion, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, according to a new study by the Global Business Travel Association. The economic impact of such activity on the U.S. gross domestic product increased similarly, according to GBTA.
The number of business trips in 2024—the year with the most recent data available, per GBTA—in the United States increased 4.6 percent year over year to nearly 488 million.
Business travel activity generated $623.8 billion for the U.S. GDP in 2024, up more than 9 percent year over year, according to the study, and representing 2.1 percent of total U.S. GDP.
GBTA defines impact in three ways: direct, which includes traveler spending on airlines, hotels and other related suppliers; indirect, which includes local suppliers to businesses serving travelers, like food for restaurants; and induced, which "adds the effect of travel‑generated wages as they are spent throughout the U.S. economy," per the study. Each category of spending increased at similar rates year over year, according to GBTA.
"From supporting millions of jobs to funding public services, the data shows how deeply business travel is connected to U.S. economic resilience, growth and competitiveness," said GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang said in a statement.
The report is an economic impact analysis and uses spending data from GBTA, Longwoods International, Rockport Analytics and the U.S. National Travel & Tourism Office, as well as meetings industry research, then applies IMPLAN economic modeling to calculate effects on GDP, jobs, wages and tax revenue.
The total impact of 2024 U.S business travel on wages and salaries increased 10 percent year over year, but employment itself only increased 3.9 percent. "Business travel supported 6.7 million jobs in 2024, compared to 6.4 million in 2023, reflecting tighter labor markets,
productivity gains, and evolving service delivery models," according to GBTA.
GBTA's calculation of 2024 business travel activity in the United States includes $270 billion from domestic travel, $50.7 billion from inbound international travel and $217.8 billion—more than 40 percent of the total—from meeting and event-related expenditures, including venue rental, audiovisual services and food and beverage costs, among other spending. It excludes business travel of less than 50 miles one way or without an overnight stay.