It's a fact: business travel in Europe is set to rise steadily from 2021. According to GBTA's latest Business Travel Index Outlook report1Business travel expenditure in Europe grew faster in 2022 than in any other region of the world. This trend continued into 2023 and 2024, with figures expected to exceed pre-COVID levels by 2025.
At the same time, travel managers seem to have only one thing on their minds: the rising cost of flights, hotel nights and train tickets. How can they keep their travel budgets under control and remain profitable despite skyrocketing prices? These fears could not be more well-founded: between 2021 and 2022, the price of travel will continue to rise. With the reopening of borders and the resumption of commercial activity, demand for business and leisure travel has literally exploded, and the cost of travel is set to rise. travel prices outstripped the rate of inflation for most of the last two years. Then, in 2023, demand gradually slowed and transmission capacity increased, causing prices to stabilise.
Combined with tougher macro-economic conditions, including high interest rates, the rising cost of travel has prompted companies to focus on reducing their travel budgets. This is not always an easy shift to make in a constantly evolving and fragmented market. What strategy should you adopt? How can we change travellers' habits? What innovations can we count on? Visit NDCNDC, a new method of distributing air content that is shaking up the market, can deliver savings of up to 12 % on flights, for example. For businesses, it is therefore becoming crucial to choose a supplier that works closely with major airlines in order to offer as many NDC connections as possible and cheaper fares to its customers.
The industry is unanimous: these trips are essential, and even more important than ever. Indeed, while COVID showed us the extent to which technology could be a major ally in keeping us connected in times of confinement, the pandemic also proved just how essential human connections are.
The return of business travel over the last three years has highlighted the importance of face-to-face meetings to maintain fruitful professional links, and has proved that human connections are at the heart of all business activity. In Navan's latest report on the state of the business travel and expense industry90 % of travel managers and business travellers surveyed said that travel is essential to a company's growth. As a result, companies are striving to optimise their travel policies in order to minimise costs while maximising travel opportunities for their employees.
This is just one piece of the complex puzzle business travel in Europe. All-in-one business travel and expense management solution, Navan has studied their evolution and recorded the findings in its report Business travel in Europe: developments and future prospects. It provides an overview of the changes in the business travel sector since 2021 and the main trends in the region over the coming years.
The aim? To enable travel managers and decision-makers in the business travel sector to develop a travel strategy in line with market realitiesThe aim is to give our customers the tools they need to reduce their travel budgets, while encouraging employees to travel.
1 GBTA report Business Travel Index Outlook
