US business travel spending forecast shows economic confidence

A forecast by The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) found that US originated business travel grew nearly 3 percent year-over-year, with company spending for business travelers increasing 7.6 percent to $71.2 billion during the first quarter of 2014. Overall, US generated business travel spending is expected to increase 6.8 percent to $292.3 billion in 2014.

The GBTA released the GBTA BTI™ Outlook – United States 2014 Q2, sponsored by Visa, Inc. The report shows the relationship of business travel to overall U.S. economic growth.

Some of the report’s key findings include:

•The total number of domestic person business trips in 2013 was revised upward to 468.8 million from the previously reported 448.7 million, resulting in a 4.7 percent year-to-year gain. Spending remained consistent with the previous forecast at $241 billion, indicating a lower-than-estimated spend per trip.

•Group business travel outperformed individual business travel in 2013, growing 8.6 percent, an indicator that the business travel industry is recovering from the Great Recession and increasing discretionary spending.

•While individual business travel volume is expected to grow 2.3 percent in 2014, spending is expected to increase 5.6 percent, driven by higher prices and additional spend-per-trip.

In addition, the study identified other trends that could impact business travel in the coming months, including the price of oil, cost of travel and international outbound business travel.