U.S. second-quarter business travel spending increased 7.1 percent year over year to $72.8 billion despite a 0.1 percent decline in the number of person-trips to 119 million, according to a report commissioned by the Global Business Travel Association.
Rockport Analytics conducted the report, which was sponsored by Visa.
Due to projected higher costs for flights, lodging and food and beverage, GBTA expects travel prices to increase 2.9 percent year over year in 2014—an increase from GBTA's July prediction of 1.9 percent for 2014—and another 3.5 percent in 2015.
GBTA maintained its July projection of a 6.8 percent year-over-year increase for 2014 business travel spending. The association for 2015 expects a 5.7 percent increase in business travel spending.
"Despite the slight downgrade in our growth forecast for person-trips for this year, we continue to be optimistic that the U.S. economy will remain on track, producing robust growth in business travel activity through the rest of 2014 and into 2015," according to GBTA.
Group business travel volume experienced its "best year" since the economic downturn, with an 8.6 percent growth increase in 2013, largely due to the corporate meetings sector, according to GBTA.
After being "hit hard over the last four years" due to "deteriorating economic conditions," international outbound trip volume in 2013 grew 1.1 percent year over year, and GBTA expects 5.6 percent and 6.5 percent increases in 2014 and 2015, respectively.