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…

Italy: An Economic Struggle Hurts Business Travel

Poor economic prospects continue to take their toll on the Italian business travel market according to the recent GBTA Foundation Western Europe business travel forecast. Italy’s labour and markets continue to lack the structural and political reforms necessary for getting the economy back on its feet. Spending on business travel in Italy only grew 1.3…

|

Brazil Business Travel Facing Significant Headwinds in 2015

Today and tomorrow, GBTA is hosting its 3rd annual GBTA Conference in Sao Paolo, Brazil bringing together travel buyers and suppliers in Latin America. Attendees will be able to network, build relationships, discover new opportunities and trends in the corporate travel market and learn best practices for travel management. Conference attendees will also hear industry…

Germany: A Bright Star in Europe’s Sky

Germany holds its position as the brightest star in the European sky when it comes to business travel as strong economic growth and relatively competitive labour markets continue to propel business travel activity. The GBTA Foundation’s recent business travel forecast for Western Europe showed overall spending on business travel in the country in 2014 finished…

Business Travel is Major Driver of Jobs and GDP Growth in Canada
|

Business Travel is Major Driver of Jobs and GDP Growth in Canada

GBTA Conference 2015 Toronto wraps up today after three days of networking, education and discussion on key industry issues and trends. One of today’s highlights was a general session presentation from GBTA’s VP of Research Joe Bates talking about the economic impact of business travel on the Canadian economy. Richard Blackwell of The Globe and…

Why India is Poised to Become a World Leader in Business Travel for Decades to Come

Why India is Poised to Become a World Leader in Business Travel for Decades to Come

Today, the GBTA Foundation released its semi-annual business travel forecast for India. The report, sponsored by Visa Inc., showed the continuation of dramatic business travel growth for the region. For the second straight time, we upgraded our forecast projecting India’s total business travel spend to grow 9.8 percent in 2015 and 10.9 percent in 2016…

Doing Our Part

Doing Our Part

*This post originally appeared as a ‘letter from Mike’ in Global Business Travel magazine volume three, issue one.* Not too long ago, business travel was largely limited to certain parts of the world. Now, business travelers regularly venture to dozens of countries on six different continents. The past 15 years alone have seen explosive growth…

Car Excise Taxes Bad for Business Travelers, Economy

Car Excise Taxes Bad for Business Travelers, Economy

Business travel is hard—and expensive—enough. States and local governments shouldn’t make it even harder and more expensive by adding unnecessary taxes on car rentals. But that is exactly what many such governments are doing, and business travelers from companies of all sizes are paying the price, along with automakers, consumers and insurers. It’s time for…

|

Five Key Takeaways from GBTA’s Business Travel Forecast for China

GBTA released its latest business travel forecast for China today as part of a semi-annual series. Sponsored by Visa Inc., the report relates unfolding economic events at home and abroad to their resulting impacts on China’s business travel market. Here are the top five takeaways: China continued its so-called “soft landing” during the second half…