Business journey spending reached $538.5B in 2024: GBTA

Dive Brief:

• Business journey “is a major driver of economic growth” throughout the U.S., because it generated $623.8 billion for total GDP and supported 6.7 million American jobs in 2024, in response to a brand new report from the Global Business Travel Association.
• Some 487.8 million enterprise journeys had been taken within the U.S. in 2024, with enterprise journey spending reaching $538.5 billion that yr, up 7.5% in comparison with 2023, per the GBTA report.
• Business journey has a direct impression on U.S. inns as the highest lodging selection among the many journey phase in 2024, the report detailed. However, world enterprise journey optimism declined sharply in 2025, and weakened sentiment has continued this yr amid considerations about geopolitical battle and better prices, GBTA beforehand reported.

Dive Insight:

In 2024, enterprise journey spending accounted for $270 billion from home journey, $50.7 billion from worldwide journey spend and $217.8 billion from conferences and events-related expenditures, in response to the report. 

Approximately 59% of journeys had been for transient enterprise functions, together with consumer service and undertaking work, whereas 41% had been for group journey, together with conferences and conventions. California, New York, Florida, Texas and Illinois led enterprise journey spending in 2024, per the report. 

Business journey “delivers value that reaches well beyond companies and travelers,” GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang stated in a Thursday assertion. The spending “flows first to industries such as hotels, airlines, restaurants and ground transportation providers,” per the report. 

Hotels, motels and mattress and breakfasts remained the main lodging selection of enterprise vacationers in 2024, used on 81.2% of enterprise journeys, the report discovered. 

Despite a stable 2024, optimism throughout the enterprise journey sector dropped in 2025 on account of U.S. authorities actions, GBTA reported final July. The decline led extra world journey consumers to cancel U.S.-based conferences and search journey companions exterior of the nation. 

Hotel firms later posted widespread U.S. RevPAR declines within the third and fourth quarters of 2025, with some CEOs citing weakened enterprise journey.  

In April, GBTA reported that pessimism amongst world enterprise journey professionals had practically tripled for the reason that begin of 2026 due partially to geopolitical instability.

“While 2024 marked a strong year for business travel and its economic impact, 2025 and 2026 have presented new and complex challenges shaped by rising geopolitical tensions, cost pressures and cross-border uncertainties,” Neufang stated, including that the group will proceed to watch and report on evolving dynamics that have an effect on the enterprise journey business.