Spain Surprises with Strong Business Travel Growth

The Spanish economy was one of the most challenged in Western Europe from 2011 through 2013 as it battled high levels of public debt, soaring unemployment and stagnating economic growth. The latest GBTA business travel forecast for Western Europe shows a surprising turnaround for the country however.

Spain has exhibited a remarkable economic turnaround driven by the banking sector and stabilization of public debt – and fortunately, business travel has followed suit. Spending advanced 6.8 percent in 2014 and we expect it to continue to grow another 7.7 percent this year reaching $19.4 billion USD.

Growth will moderate in 2016, but we still expect 5.4 percent growth in total business travel spending. While the initial business travel recovery was driven by international outbound spending which grew 14.4 percent in 2014, domestic business travel will now take over and account for the majority of the growth in business travel spending for the rest of 2015 and 2016.

Also, check out the 5 Key Takeaways from the entire Western Europe forecast.