Most travel buyers expect business travel spending and volume to increase in 2024 compared with last year, with costs ranking as their top concern for the year, according to a Global Business Travel Association poll of 707 travel buyers, suppliers and industry professionals.
The survey—fielded Jan. 9-22 with respondents from around the world, half of whom were travel buyers or procurement professionals—showed 59 percent of travel buyers said they expect business travel volume to increase year over year in 2024. Only 9 percent of total buyer respondents said that increase would be 20 percent or more, while half said volumes would increase by up to 20 percent. Twenty-eight percent said their business trip volume would be unchanged from 2023 this year, while 11 percent said volumes would decrease in 2024.
In terms of spending, about two-thirds of buyers said their company would spend more on travel in 2024 compared with 2023—11 percent of total respondents said that increase would be higher than 20 percent, while 55 percent said the increase would be 20 percent or lower. Just over 20 percent said they expect spending to be flat year over year in 2024, and 12 percent project a spending decrease.
"As companies and travelers continue to embrace the vital role of in-person connection for business, there are strong indicators for continued growth in travel volume and spending in 2024," GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang said in a statement. "This bodes well for the future of our industry and its professionals."
Across all survey respondents, about two-thirds listed the rising costs of travel among the top three significant issues faced by the business travel industry in 2024, the most frequently cited concern. Other top concerns included overall economic concerns (46 percent), corporate travel budgets not keeping pace with needs (42 percent) and travel disruptions (32 percent).
The survey also indicated that suppliers are much more likely than buyers to see staff increases this year. Among travel supplier and travel management company respondents, 46 percent said they expect their company's overall staffing to increase this year, and 36 percent said staffing levels should remain the same. Among buyer respondents, however, only 14 percent said they expect their internal travel team staffing to increase this year, while 64 percent said they expected no change in staffing. Twelve percent of buyers, however, said that while they did not expect their team to grow, they are getting more support via partnerships with other internal teams.
Only 6 percent of buyers and 7 percent of suppliers said they expect staffing levels to decrease in 2024 compared with 2023.
Additionally, the travel industry is largely ready to move on from using pre-pandemic trends as a benchmark, according to the survey, with 57 percent of respondents said performance comparisons with 2019 are no longer relevant. While about a third of respondents still see value in such comparisons, the pandemic itself ranked at the bottom of respondents' concerns for 2024, according to GBTA.