Business journey is shifting in the direction of pursuing excessive cost-performance worth – Global Business Travel Association

*This is an AI translation. The unique article could be discovered here 
Source: 商務旅行轉而追求「高CP值」

When budgets are tight, enterprise vacationers will fly to extra cities in a row, attend extra conferences — and in addition schedule a couple of days off for themselves. 

The Trump-led U.S. authorities is ushering in an period of “tight budgets” for world enterprise journey. 

Written by: Yang Yingwei 
Edited by: Deng Yongjun 

According to an trade survey performed in early April by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), almost 30% of company journey procurement professionals anticipate a decline in enterprise journey quantity this yr. Additionally, 27% predict that enterprise journey spending will drop by a mean of 20%. 

GBTA’s evaluation attributes this decline primarily to coverage uncertainties from the U.S. authorities, together with tariffs, cross-border insurance policies, and entry restrictions. 

“Business travel is one of the most discretionary areas of corporate spending. When uncertainty arises, it’s often the first area where companies cut budgets,” mentioned Catherine Logan, GBTA’s Senior Vice President for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. She described the shift towards conservative journey spending as a “responsible approach,” however emphasised that enterprise journey patrons within the Asia-Pacific area stay extra optimistic about their journey budgets and spending for the yr. 

According to a different survey launched by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) in late May, enterprise journey spending within the Asia-Pacific area is anticipated to develop by 10.8% yearly, reaching $679 billion by the tip of 2025. 

“Asia-Pacific has already become the largest market for business travel. According to our data, last year the region accounted for 40% of global business travel spending,” mentioned Catherine Logan. 

Leading the area is China. Based on GBTA’s annual Global Business Travel Index, in 2024, China’s enterprise journey spending reached $372.5 billion, capturing 25% of the worldwide market, making it the biggest market worldwide. 

“Our backend data shows that international business travel by Chinese companies is increasing, and the overall economic vitality of the Greater China region is very strong,” mentioned Song Tao, CEO of Trip.Biz, the company journey arm of Trip.com Group. In response to questions on whether or not China’s financial slowdown would have an effect on enterprise journey, he added, “Data doesn’t lie, but sometimes it can surprise you.” 

Logan emphasised that the expansion of the enterprise journey market is intently tied to the expansion of the financial system: 

“Business travel isn’t about flying business class—it’s about going out to do business,” she mentioned. “So when you see such massive economic activity in the Asia-Pacific region, it naturally comes with a lot of business travel.” 

As the company journey administration arm of Trip.com Group (NASDAQ: TCOM), China’s largest on-line journey company (OTA), Trip.Biz serves over 15,000 giant enterprises and 1 million small and medium-sized companies. 
Song Tao famous that Chinese firms’ abroad enlargement methods have gotten more and more clear, which has considerably boosted gross sales of Trip.Biz’s worldwide options: 

“It’s no longer just about seeking opportunities abroad—many companies have already established a local presence and formed stable operations.” 

“It might come as a surprise, but according to our data, the food and beverage industry is very active in business travel,” recalled Song Tao. He shared that in a enterprise journey to Seattle, he noticed a number of Chinese tea manufacturers already competing there: 
“Seattle is considered a relatively slow-paced city.” 

He added that manufacturing and know-how are additionally two of essentially the most lively sectors for Chinese enterprise journey. However, their locations are inclined to differ: 

• Manufacturing firms choose Southeast Asia, 

• While internet-based industries, particularly gaming, have been actively increasing into Europe lately. 

“One particularly interesting destination is Brazil—it’s popular across various industries. It’s not only a potential market but also an important location for setting up international offices.” 

Thanks to the expansion of China’s enterprise journey market, Trip.Biz has seen robust monetary efficiency. According to figures compiled by Bloomberg Businessweek (Chinese Edition) from Trip.com Group’s monetary experiences, Trip.Biz generated RMB 2.5 billion in income in 2024. 
This is greater than double its income in 2019 (pre-pandemic), and over thrice its 2017 income of RMB 750 million. 

From a macro perspective, though China’s enterprise journey market is performing effectively, a better take a look at completely different industries and corporations reveals that value management stays a key focus when planning enterprise journey. 

“This doesn’t mean companies are cutting their business travel budgets,” mentioned Catherine Logan. According to GBTA’s information, company journey budgets have truly elevated, however the primary purpose is rising resort and airfare costs. 

However, firms are inserting better emphasis on the “return” of enterprise journey. 

“Businesses want to make every penny count,” Logan mentioned. 

The 2024–2025 Business Travel Management White Paper (hereafter known as the “White Paper”) launched final yr by Trip.Biz additionally displays this pattern. In the 113-page report, 26 pages are devoted to a particular part titled “A Practical Guide to Cost Optimization and Efficiency Improvement.” 

In brief, this main Chinese enterprise journey administration firm devoted almost 1 / 4 of its flagship annual report back to educating company journey procurement professionals management spending and enhance effectivity. 

Survey leads to the White Paper present that personal enterprises in China are essentially the most targeted on cost-efficiency in enterprise journey, scoring 8.4 out of 10 by way of concern. Even foreign-invested enterprises, which confirmed the bottom stage of concern, nonetheless scored 7.9. 

“Cost-effectiveness has now become a top priority for many business travelers,” mentioned Toby Smith, Vice Chairman of Swire Hotels. In a written interview, he used Hong Kong for example, noting that enterprise vacationers from mainland China are shortening their stays: 
“The convenience brought by the rapid development of high-speed rail, along with increasingly frequent flights between major mainland cities, allows business travelers to easily visit multiple locations in one trip—resulting in shorter stays in Hong Kong.” 

“Single-day business trips are becoming less common. People now prefer to link multiple stops—for example, arranging different meetings over a three-day trip, flying to Shanghai first, then to Beijing,” mentioned Catherine Logan. “People are approaching business travel with a much more purpose-driven mindset.” 

Logan additional defined that this pattern of “linked itineraries” is without doubt one of the adjustments the COVID-19 pandemic delivered to enterprise journey patterns: 

“If this interview had taken place six years ago, we would have done it over the phone—and we might never have met in person. That was a very practical approach.” 

Speaking from Northern Ireland in a digital assembly with a journalist in Hong Kong, Logan famous that the rise of on-line conferences through the pandemic has modified how individuals talk: 

“There’s real value in humans sitting in the same room, talking face-to-face, and exchanging ideas. That’s how connections and relationships are built—and that’s crucial in business.” 

To align with this pattern, Swire Hotels has actively expanded its infrastructure lately to create handy “third spaces” for enterprise vacationers to fulfill. For instance, The Upper House, positioned in Admiralty, Hong Kong’s central enterprise district, options the Mediterranean restaurant Salisterra, which opened in 2021. 

“The restaurant’s relaxed yet private atmosphere makes it an ideal choice for many business travelers to host business lunches or meet with partners,” mentioned Toby Smith. 

In addition to the restaurant, which prices round HKD 500 per particular person, the group additionally presents extra accessible choices. Smith launched EAST Hong Kong in Quarry Bay, which options Domain, a mixed café and co-working house on the primary ground of the foyer: 

“It was designed to cater to the changing preferences of business travelers.” 

The house even extends into the close by shopping center, permitting workplace staff within the space to take pleasure in their signature crispy croissants, making it simple for enterprise conversations to occur anytime, wherever. 

This sort of house that balances work and leisure wants is a continuation of the “work-from-home” pattern that emerged through the pandemic, reflecting a rising mixing of labor and private time. Similarly, Catherine Logan identified that “bleisure” journey—a mix of enterprise and leisure—is changing into more and more common. This refers to enterprise vacationers extending their journeys by a couple of days to take pleasure in native leisure actions. 

A 2024 Deloitte survey on enterprise journey confirmed that two-thirds of enterprise vacationers in 2023 prolonged their journeys for leisure, and one in seven mentioned they’d executed so three or extra occasions. 

“When people travel to a place they’ve never been before, it’s only natural to seize the opportunity and make it part of their life experience,” Logan mentioned. 

“But it does present an interesting challenge for organizations: where are travelers, and who is responsible for them?” Logan raised the problem of obligation of care, noting that journey disruptions are widespread—native strikes, pure disasters, or terrorist incidents can all have an effect on worker security. Companies should be capable of present well timed help and even dynamically alter journey plans. 

In addition, bleisure journey additionally brings compliance and auditing challenges. Logan famous that firms want to determine clear insurance policies and may use know-how to observe bookings and establish leisure parts. For instance, information instruments can calculate the additional lodging prices or elevated airfare attributable to prolonged stays or accompanying household/mates, after which pretty allocate prices between the person and the corporate. 

Risk and compliance is without doubt one of the most promising areas for AI purposes within the enterprise journey trade. Trip.Biz developed a product referred to as “Chengxin”, which makes use of AI fashions to establish dangerous journey bookings. So far, it has developed almost 20 fashions overlaying flights, motels, and taxis. 
Song Tao gave an instance involving resort bookings: some enterprise vacationers, benefiting from their familiarity with resort employees, collude to inflate receipt costs. Chengxin can steadily scrape seasonal resort pricing to shortly flag overpriced bookings and alert firm reimbursement officers. 

Citing trade analysis, Song famous that round 7% of worldwide enterprise journey bookings carry compliance dangers. He emphasised that utilizing AI to make sure compliance is extra about preventive management: 

“Risks often start when individual employees discover small loopholes and take chances, which then leads to group imitation. In many past compliance cases, once the issue surfaced, it involved large sums of money.” 

Riding the momentum of its guardian firm Trip.com Group’s world enlargement, Trip.Biz plans to broaden into eight new world areas over the following yr, together with Thailand and Malaysia in Asia, and the UK and France in Europe. 

“This year’s global expansion will be relatively aggressive,” mentioned Song Tao. However, he emphasised that getting into Europe just isn’t about competing for market share, however reasonably about serving the wants of Asian shoppers as a part of a globalization roadmap: 
“What we’re best at—and where we continue to gain an edge—is still the Asia-Pacific market.” 

Swire Hotels and GBTA are each optimistic about the way forward for the Asia-Pacific enterprise journey market. Swire Hotels is actively increasing its “House Collective” sequence, with plans to open new properties in Shenzhen, Xi’an, and Tokyo. Meanwhile, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), established in 1968, introduced just some months in the past that it will likely be organising advisory boards in India and China. 

“GBTA must establish a presence in this market if it wants to truly call itself ‘Global’,” mentioned Catherine Logan. 

By the tip of this yr, Logan shall be touring to India, then on to Australia and Singapore for enterprise. She expressed nice pleasure concerning the upcoming journey: 

“This will be one of the most interesting and meaningful things I’ve done in my career. I haven’t spent much time in the Asia-Pacific region before. I’m really happy to meet people here and get to know the region,” Logan mentioned. 

“It’s going to be a fascinating journey!”