Flight Centre Travel Group in its first forecast of upcoming
business travel spend surveyed its client base from business travel brands FCM
and Corporate Traveler to gauge the trajectory of business travel volume for
its fiscal year 2025, which began in July.
Among 562 clients in major global markets, 40 percent said
they plan to increase their travel volume in the year ahead (through June 2025),
compared to the same year-ago time period. Forty-two percent globally said they
plan to increase their travel spend for the same period.
Among clients based in the Americas region, the numbers were
slightly different. They showed heightened expectations of increased spend
compared to the global numbers, even if some of these companies didn’t plan to
increase trip volume. Forty-one percent of companies based in the Americas said
they would increase trip volume, while 47 percent expect they will spend more
on travel in the coming year.
The percent of growth will be significant for a subset of
those respondents. Ten percent of companies globally and 12 percent in the
Americas intend to increase trip volume by more than 20 percent. Six percent
globally and 8 percent in the Americas expect their business travel spend will
rise by more than 20 percent as well.
“It’s
exciting to see the positive momentum and continued growth in business travel,”
said Flight Centre Travel Group Americas president Charlene Leiss. “[It’s] a
welcome sign for employees that strategically leverage travel to foster
connections, increase collaboration, and drive innovation for their
businesses.”
On the flip
side, 10 percent of responding companies anticipated a reduction in travel in the
coming year, while 15 percent were uncertain about plans. Regarding spend,
11 percent expected a reduction and 16 percent were uncertain. In the Americas,
just 9 percent expected a reduction in trips and 8 percent expected a reduction
in spend. Eight percent and 13 percent, accordingly, were uncertain about those
metrics.