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GBTA Poll
Business Travel Professionals Signal Stronger Confidence and Also Constraint for 2026
Global business travel professionals are cautiously optimistic as the industry enters the year ahead ─ despite concerns over balancing travel budgets with costs, traveler safety and satisfaction, and potentially stricter U.S. border and visa requirements. This is according to the latest GBTA poll released today of 571 corporate travel professionals across 40 countries surveying their year-ahead outlook.
“The results show an industry propelled by anticipated stronger demand and financial indicators yet potentially constrained by external factors that could reshape business travel in the year ahead,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA. “Traveling for work is critical to how global companies and economies grow, innovate and connect.”
Key highlights from the poll include:
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59% of travel professionals polled are optimistic about the industry this year.
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Trade, cross-border and economic headwinds have left their mark on travel buyers—their outlook is down 12 percentage points versus coming into 2025.
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84% of buyers expect their business travel spending in 2026 to increase or stay at 2025 levels.
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35% of buyers expect the number of business trips at their company to increase in 2026.
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47% of TMCs and suppliers expect to see increases in revenue in 2026.
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75% of buyers expect their 2026 budget for travel management operations to increase or stay consistent with 2025.
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Buyers are most concerned about the affordability of business travel (70%), followed by the ease of obtaining entry/exit permissions and visas (65%) and employee safety (56%).
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When asked about the U.S government’s proposed stricter Electronic System for Travel Authorization requirements, among respondents who say their organization frequently sends employees to the U.S., 42% are very concerned and 36% are somewhat concerned. Additionally, 64% feel employees may be less willing to travel to the U.S. and 60% say planning U.S. travel is unpredictable and risky.
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For AI initiatives in 2026, professionals cite pricing optimization (65%) and predictive analytics (64%) as the areas of highest interest.
Read today’s full announcement here.
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