This report provides an overview of business travel worldwide and the trends that will influence future developments in the sector. The report is broken down by type of travel service (ie airlines, car rental, rail, hotels), as well as by major country travel market. There are also individual sections about travel management, loyalty programmes, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) travel and teleconferencing, the quality of which has improved greatly in recent years as the cost has come down. Following two years of decline (in 2008 and 2009), spending on business travel and tourism finally bounced back in 2010, increasing by 6%. According to World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts, growth is likely to have accelerated to a rate of 6% in 2011 and should grow by 6.4% in 2012. By 2021, the WTTC expects that expenditure will have increased by 56% in real terms to reach US$1.4 trillion (in 2011 Dollars).

Business travel is a part of tourism as defined by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and includes sales calls, routine intra-corporate visits, travel by public-sector employees, training sessions and MICE, but notably excludes gypsies, migrant workers, diplomats and military personnel on duty. Although business travel only accounted for 15% of cross-border travel in 2010, according to the UNWTO, it contributes a higher level of receipts per tourist to destinations and travel-service providers than personal travel and tourism, due to intensive use of hotels and banqueting facilities, as well as business- and first-class air and rail travel. Indeed, in 2011, the WTTC estimates that business travellers accounted for over 23% of spending on travel and tourism worldwide (including domestic and international).

Some questions answered in this report include:

Airfares are generally rising due to increasing business-traveller demand, capacity reductions – especially by US carriers, and the new requirement that all air flights to and from European destinations be covered by CO₂ permits.

Executive aviation is showing signs of revival, as evidenced by a reduction in used aircraft for sale and by a large order for new planes placed by NetJets, the world’s largest operator of private jets. Demand for larger private jets is much stronger than for smaller planes due to demand from emerging markets.

Hotel rates are also rising on the back of stronger business traveller demand and due to restrained capacity growth, as development pipelines were sharply reduced during the recessionary years of 2008-09.

Free Wi-Fi and a complimentary breakfast are by far the two most sought-after hotel amenities by business travellers.

Business centres are slowly disappearing from hotels and are being replaced by comfortable chairs in the lobby where the modern business traveller prefers to work if not in the bedroom.

More companies are globalising their travel management for reasons of security, compliance and cost management. Technological advances are also allowing smaller companies to implement worldwide travel programmes.

Corporate travel-management policies are being challenged by the availability of cheap deals online as well as the new generation of young business travellers who favour mobile applications (apps) as booking channels and social networking for communication.