Business travel spending is forecast to grow 21 percent this year worldwide, helped by the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, but will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until the middle of the decade, a business travel association said on Tuesday.
For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.
Spending on business travel is projected to rise to $842 billion in 2021, according to the Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) BTI Outlook, after dropping 52 percent in 2020 to $694 billion due to the pandemic.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app
After a decade of steady annual growth, business travel is expected to have shown losses in 2020 that were 10 times greater than the declines after the September 11, 2001, attacks or the 2008 recession, GBTA said.
Read more:
Coronavirus: UK to force travelers from high-risk countries to quarantine for 10 days
Coronavirus: Biden to re-impose COVID-19 travel bans: White House official
UK detects South African COVID-19 strain in people with no travel links
Despite the expected growth in travel in 2021, uncertainty around vaccination progress and US President Joe Biden’s policies can affect the recovery.
“The continued rollout of the vaccine will be central to recovery globally, as will decisions the new Biden Administration makes regarding global trade and border and quarantine policies,” said Dave Hilfman, GBTA’s interim executive director in a statement.
As US airlines also expect, the group said businesses are likely to spend more on travel that cannot be duplicated with online meetings such as sales calls and service trips.
The proportion of companies’ travel budget spent on internal meetings is estimated to decline 6 percent, compared with 2019, the group said.
By the end of 2024, business travel spending is projected to reach about $1.4 trillion, nearly equaling the 2019 pre-pandemic revenue peak of $1.43 trillion, the group said. It projects a full recovery in 2025.
Key developing economies in Asia Pacific will drive global growth in business travel over the next decade, the group said.
Also Read
-
UK detects South African COVID-19 strain in people with no travel links
Two people in southern England have tested positive for the South African variant of the coronavirus without having any links to people who have ... Coronavirus -
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia extends travel restrictions, border closure to May 17
Saudi Arabia will be extending the travel ban for its citizens, and will reopen its air, land, sea on May 17, instead of March 31, as a coronavirus ... Coronavirus -
Coronavirus: UAE extends visit visas of British tourists for free after travel ban
The United Arab Emirates said it will extend the visit visas of British tourists after a decision was taken by the United Kingdom to implement travel ... Coronavirus -
Coronavirus: Germany bans travelers from UK, others due to COVID-19 variants
Germany is banning most travelers from countries hardest hit by coronavirus variants, the interior minister said on Thursday, to stop the strains from ... Coronavirus -
Coronavirus: Dubai changes travel protocols for inbound passengers from Jan. 31
Dubai changed its coronavirus travel protocols for inbound passengers effective from January 31, amid continually rising numbers of daily COVID-19 ... Coronavirus -
Coronavirus: Biden to re-impose COVID-19 travel bans: White House official
President Joe Biden will re-impose a Covid-19 travel ban on most non-US citizens who have been in Britain, Brazil, Ireland and much of Europe, a White ... Coronavirus -
Coronavirus: UK to force travelers from high-risk countries to quarantine for 10 days
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is preparing to force travelers from countries where there is a high risk of COVID-19 to go into quarantine ... Coronavirus
