Global business travel and events costs are set to climb higher through the remainder of 2023 and into 2024, although at a much more moderate pace than in 2022.
This is according to the 2024 Global Business Travel Forecast, published by CWT, a business travel and meetings management company, and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s largest business travel trade organization.
Rising fuel prices, labor shortages, and supply chain challenges, coupled with high demand, caused travel prices to jump last year–far surpassing some of the increases outlined in last year’s forecast.
Lingering economic uncertainty and a gradual easing of supply-side constraints are expected to result in more subdued price increases over the next 12 to 18 months, according to the report, which uses anonymized data generated by CWT and GBTA, with publicly available industry information and econometric and statistical modeling developed by the Avrio Institute.
“A potent combination of demand and supply-side pressures propelled travel prices higher than expected last year,” says Patrick Andersen, CWT CEO. “Looking forward … [we] could now be looking at the true new cost of travel. Our focus remains on helping our customers find the right strategies and solutions to get the most out of their travel budgets, meet their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) commitments, and maximize the ROI on their travel spend.”
“As this research outlines, it’s clear that rising costs and pricing pressures will likely continue to be a significant factor in business travel for the foreseeable future. And as we experienced over the past few years, we may also continue to see different pricing fluctuations across industry verticals, business sectors, and global regions,” says Suzanne Neufang, GBTA CEO. “While business travel continues to rebound, there will be a continuing balancing act among demand, cost, and ESG concerns. So, with a forecast ahead for more volatility, our goal is to provide insights like these to help travel buyers, suppliers, intermediaries, and finance executives continue to understand, evaluate, and adjust their business travel strategies.”
