Business travelers have been marking fewer trips on their calendars, but they are making those trips count. According to a recent study by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), American business travelers have been spending more on fewer excursions.
The report showed business travel spending rose from $243 billion in 2000 to $251 billion in 2011. Though the association said nearly two-thirds of that increase was from inflation, a third of it was the result of higher spending.
Although overall spending increased of 3 percent, the total number of trips dropped 22.7 percent from 2000 to 2011.
“This trend makes sense,” said Michael W. McCormick, executive director of GBTA. “We’re seeing road warriors taking fewer trips but making the most of them, making more stops and spending more on the road.”
Joseph Bates, GBTA’s senior director of research, added that group business travel spending was up nearly 8 percent in 2011 and is expected to rise again in 2012. Bates believes that the additional spending means that luxury corporate retreats have been on the rise again, though tempered.
“No one is really looking at resuming pre-recession extravagance,” said Bates. “There’s a balance.”
For more information, read the L.A. Times and Forbes articles.
