Business travel to rise 40% by 2025, new study shows

Flight Centre Travel Group has launched its first-ever ‘State of the Market,’ a global survey designed to uncover the latest insights and trends driving the behaviours and preferences of today’s business traveller and shaping the future of the industry.

The comprehensive survey was conducted by the corporate division of Flight Centre Travel Group, which analyzed more than 560 client responses across the globe from its flagship brands FCM Travel and Corporate Traveler, providing a true reflection of travel intentions worldwide.

Focus on business travel

According to the results, there is expected to be a greater investment and focus on business travel in the year ahead. It was revealed that 40 per cent of businesses globally plan to increase the amount they travel during this fiscal year (July 2024 to June 2025), compared to the same time period last year. Forty-two per cent of customers globally plan to increase their spend on travel, versus last year.

“It’s exciting to see the positive momentum and continued growth in business travel, with more and more customers not just embracing the return to the road, but also looking to add additional trips throughout the year,” said Flight Centre Travel Group Americas president Charlene Leiss.

“These encouraging figures reflect the unwavering commitment from companies to deepen their investment in business travel, demonstrating the strength and the resiliency of the industry right now,” said Leiss. “The plans to increase spend is a welcome sign for employees that strategically leverage travel to foster connections, increase collaboration, and drive innovation for their businesses.”

The breakdown of expected travel frequency and spend by customers surveyed globally is below, along with the results for just those customers based in the Americas.

Expected Travel Frequency in FY25

• 10% globally (12% Americas) – intend to increase travel by more than 20%
• 30% globally (29% Americas) – intend to increase travel by up to 20% more
• 35% globally (40% Americas) – intend to travel about the same amount
• 10% globally (9% Americas) – anticipate a reduction in travel
• 15% globally (10% Americas) – uncertain on plans to increase/decrease travel

Expected Travel Spend in FY25

• 6% globally (8% Americas) – intend to increase spend by more than 20%
• 36% globally (39% Americas) – intend to increase spend by up to 20% more
• 31% globally (32% Americas) – intend to spend about the same amount
• 11% globally (8% Americas) – anticipate a reduction in spend
• 16% globally (13% Americas) – uncertain on plans to increase/decrease spend

*The State of the Market survey was conducted online between June 3, 2024 to July 11, 2024. The target respondents were FCM Travel and Corporate Traveler customers, specifically decision-makers, travel managers, and authorized travel bookers. All FCM Travel and Corporate Traveler regions were included. A random sample of 562 responses were obtained.