NATIONAL
REPORT – Business travelers are regaining confidence heading into the final
months of the year with 43% of respondents to the latest Global Business Travel
Association (GBTA) survey stating they are optimistic about the industry’s
outlook for the rest of 2025 ─ a significant jump from 28% in June.
Canadian respondents are especially more upbeat, with more than half (54%)
expressing optimism, versus 23% in June. It is, however, still 33% below
optimism levels compared to November 2024.
At the
same time, GBTA said concerns among travelers remain relative to
still-anticipated decreases in business trip volume, spending and revenue at
their organizations for 2025.
The
data collected from October 2-15 from 591 GBTA member and non-members also
suggested business trip and traveler preferences and patterns are also
evolving, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are
reshaping how companies anticipate managing travel. Yet, challenges persist ─
from traveler accessibility gaps to the impact of government actions ─ and
continue to redefine the landscape.
Here
are some of the other highlights from the survey results:
U.S. government actions continue to cast a shadow over
business travel spending, volume and revenue outlook. One-third of global buyers (35%)
expect their company’s 2025 travel volume will decline due to U.S. government
actions, with an average expected decrease of 19%, mirroring similar levels
reported in GBTA’s June poll.
Corporate travel programs are split when it comes to employees and short-term rentals: 57% of policies prohibit use of platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo, while only 8% always allow them.
GBTA
Also in line with June results, 30% percent of global buyers expect their
travel spending to decrease in 2025, by an average of 19%.
The October poll shows EMEA-based travel buyers are least likely among other
regions to expect a decline in volume (29%) or spending (23%).
Global travel suppliers are feeling a bit more confident about business travel
revenue for 2025. Fully, 37% expect an impact to their business travel revenue
(an improvement from 48% in June), with a similar anticipated decrease of 16%
on average.
Revenue concerns continue to be most pronounced among lodging suppliers (59%),
but consistent since June (58%). Travel management company (TMC) respondents
are less likely to expect a decrease (32% in October versus 48% in June) while
more airline professionals expect a decrease (50% October versus 39% June).
It is likely that declines in second and third quarter volume and spend are not
able to be “made up” in the fourth quarter, Thus, the fairly stable view of
slower/lower growth for 2025, even as optimism rebounds.
Business travel patterns shift toward longer, multi-stop
trips. Nearly two in five
travel buyers (39%) report a rise in “linked” or
multi-meeting/multi-destination trips. One-third (33%) have seen longer trip
durations and another third (32%) say day trips have decreased in the past
year. (In GBTA’s 2024 poll, 53% of buyers reported seeing more linked business
trips, 36% reported longer business trips and 27% cited fewer day trips versus
2023.)
Premium economy bookings are on the rise, especially in EMEA, where 45% of
travel managers noted an increase.
The industry is embracing agentic AI, with nearly half of suppliers and TMC professionals (49%) and one-third of buyers (33%) reporting their companies are already experimenting with autonomous AI.
GBTA
Travel policies tighten on short-term rentals, while
employees are willing to pay for better experiences themselves, without
reimbursement expectations. Corporate
travel programs are split when it comes to employees and short-term rentals:
57% of policies prohibit use of platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo, while only 8%
always allow them.
Meanwhile, whether for convenience or comfort, some employees are deciding to
cover what their travel policies don’t. Two in five travel managers (43%) say
their employees at least occasionally pay out-of-pocket for travel upgrades,
most often for flight cabin upgrades (78%) followed by airport lounge access
(30%) and extra hotel nights (29%).
Blended travel continues to gain ground, boosting employee
satisfaction. Fully, 43% of travel
programs now have defined policies for blended or “bleisure” travel, with 71%
of buyers citing benefits of improved employee satisfaction and 68% noting
better work-life balance.
However, concerns remain for travel managers around duty of care (59%), expense
tracking (55%), and insurance coverage (46%).
Agentic AI adoption accelerates, but data privacy concerns
loom. The industry is
embracing agentic AI, with nearly half of suppliers and TMC professionals (49%)
and one-third of buyers (33%) reporting their companies are already
experimenting with autonomous AI. (In GBTA’s February poll, 34% of travel
buyers said they planned to apply AI in their travel program in “significant
ways” in 2025.)
Top applications for both travel buyers and suppliers and TMCs are customer
service, traveler personalization, and automated itinerary planning.
Additionally, half of buyer respondents (51%) are planning to use agentic AI
for expense reconciliation.
Data privacy and security along with integration with existing systems are top
concerns for buyers, suppliers and TMCs.