Survey Predicts 7% Rise in US Business Travel Spending

US business travel spending is set to grow by about 7% in 2014 on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, according to a Visa-sponsored survey conducted by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

The study highlights the relationship between business travel and the country’s economic growth, also highlighting that US businesses have increased confidence in the country’s economic recovery.

In the first quarter of 2014 business travel in the US grew up to 3% YoY, while the money spent on travellers increased 7.6% to US$71.2bn as companies increased their travel budgets and withdrew some restrictions. For the full year, US business travel spending is expected to increase by 6.8% to US$292.3bn. Spending on business travel in the US is believed to support up to 7.1m jobs.

Among other findings from the survey:

• For the year 2013, the number of persons who traveled due to business requirements was revised upwards from 448.7m to 468.8m, a 4.7% YoY increase, although spending remained at US$241bn as previously forecast.
• In 2013, group business travel grew 8.6%.
• Individual business travel is expected to grow only by 2.3% in 2014, but spending is likely to increase by 5.6% because of higher prices and additional spending per trip.

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