Business Travel Keeps Growing, But Erratic Economic Drivers Limit Growth

Earlier this week, GBTA released our latest outlook for business travel in the United States. Our forecast shows business travel spending will increase by nearly 5 percent in 2015 to $302.7 billion, yet ongoing concerns about the U.S. economy are reining-in what could be even sharper growth. Global business travel both drives, and is driven,…

Single-Use Virtual Accounts Gaining Popularity  Among Business Travelers

Single-Use Virtual Accounts Gaining Popularity Among Business Travelers

Today, the GBTA Foundation released a new study on virtual payment solutions sponsored by U.S. Bank. The following press release went out announcing the new report: Majority of Suppliers Accepting Virtual Payments About 20 percent of American businesses today pay for travel using cardless single-use “virtual” accounts, up from 13 percent last year, according to a…

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…

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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…

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…

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5 Key Takeaways from GBTA’s Western Europe Business Travel Forecast

Business travel in Western Europe is finally standing on solid ground. Companies however are still showing a penchant toward saving for the future in case the economy backslides – that pessimism is slowly starting to abate, but optimism has not fully set in. Still, the stronger economy, lower energy prices and smart fiscal policies are…

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Travel Risk Management Protocols on the Rise

A recent GBTA Foundation study released earlier this week showed an overwhelming majority (83 percent) of organizations that have travel risk management programs, have risk management protocols in place as part of their travel programs to ensure the safety and well-being of their business travelers. GBTA only expects this number to go up. Of those…

U.S. Business Travel Volume on the Rise

The GBTA Foundation released its latest quarterly U.S. business travel forecast today and trip volume is on the rise. While we lowered our forecast for business travel spending from last quarter because the costs of travel are falling and are now expecting 3.1 percent spending growth to $295.7 billion, we increased the forecast for person-trip volume…

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Project ICARUS Recognizes Outstanding Examples of Sustainability at Berlin Conference

Many of you are probably already familiar with Project ICARUS. For those that aren’t, this GBTA Foundation initiative launched in 2006 is the definitive source of information, education, support and recognition programs for sustainability in the business travel and meetings industry, globally. Just last month at GBTA Conference 2014 Berlin, Project ICARUS announced the winners…

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Week In Review

The Week in Review keeps you up-to-date on the latest business travel news. We had some technical difficulties on Friday, but we’re back today with the latest in business travel news. Check back again this Friday for another wrap-up. The U.S. tightened security requirements for travelers from Europe and Asia on Monday. According to Reuters, visitors…