Deloitte Report: Mixed Outlook for Business Travel

Consulting agency Deloitte on Thursday launched its annual
evaluation of enterprise journey tendencies amongst U.S.-based corporations, highlighting in
2025 the combined situations below which enterprise journey and the administration of that
journey are happening. Study authors concluded that whereas enterprise journey
continues to develop “the tempo seems to be modest and may be very unlikely to exceed
the 9.6 p.c U.S. spend development forecast by the Global Business Travel
Association.”

Small Companies Less Likely to Reduce Budgets

The majority of surveyed corporations elevated their journey
spending in 2025, in comparison with 2024. Nearly three-quarters of corporations did so,
with a median improve of twenty-two p.c over final yr, in keeping with Deloitte. A
smaller slice—however nonetheless greater than two-thirds—predicted their 2026 journey spend
will outpace 2025 and with a barely stronger improve of 23 p.c on common.

Ten p.c of corporations total cited diminished journey spending
in 2025 in comparison with final yr, with the common finances discount touchdown at a
appreciable 28 p.c. Buyers cited barely higher expectations for 2026,
with 9 p.c projecting diminished spending and at a decrease common discount of
24 p.c.

According to the Deloitte examine, bigger corporations with
larger journey budgets have been extra affected by spend reductions in 2025, with 20
p.c impacted by cuts and the common lower coming in at 35 p.c.

Comparatively, simply 6 p.c of small corporations indicated
finances cuts, and the common discount throughout that group was decrease at 18
p.c.

Deloitte outlined “large companies” by their journey spend for
the needs of this survey, and pegged giant corporations as these spending
US$7.5 million or extra yearly on all journey. That is a considerably decrease
bar than different {industry} benchmarks for giant journey spend: BTN’s defines giant
packages as people who spend a minimum of $14 million air journey in a calendar yr;
Amex GBT defines enterprise packages as people who keep greater than $20
million in annual air quantity.

Key Business Travel Drivers

Travel managers surveyed by Deloitte cited growing year-over-year
spend on each kind of journey tracked within the examine—this might largely be down
to growing prices (see Barriers to Business Travel beneath). The most prevalent
improve amongst surveyed corporations have been for on-site monitoring visits, the place
spend elevated for 65 p.c of corporations in 2025, in comparison with simply over 40
p.c of corporations in 2024. Leadership conferences have been one other space of extra
intensive journey spend in 2025. Just below 50 p.c of surveyed corporations
spent extra on any such journey in 2024, whereas two-thirds spent extra on them
in 2025.

As has been reported by many shops, attendance at conferences
and commerce reveals was a key funding for companies. Not solely did Deloitte’s
examine present corporations growing YOY spending on this journey kind, 65 p.c of
vacationers surveyed mentioned they might attend a convention or occasion in 2025, making
it the most important incidence for journey and clocking in 2 share factors greater
than final yr.

Almost half of vacationers mentioned they might journey for coaching
in 2025 and 39 p.c mentioned they might journey for gross sales conferences and consumer relationship
constructing. Client challenge work was in retailer for 36 p.c of traveler respondents
and simply over one-third would journey for inner conferences.

Barriers to Business Travel

Among the 1,000 enterprise vacationers surveyed by Deloitte, 18
p.c reported that they traveled recurrently (6 to 10 journeys yearly) and 9
p.c reported they traveled often (greater than 10 journeys per yr). Year over
yr the group that travels recurrently elevated by 3 p.c and the group that
travels often decreased by 3 p.c in what appears like a journey downshift
amongst those that journey most intensely.

Among these street warriors, Deloitte drilled into a ten
p.c shift in traveler respondents who hit the street 3-plus occasions monthly
to a 9 p.c improve in vacationers who journey 2 occasions monthly, signaling a
systemic discount. Additionally, 26 p.c of vacationers at bigger corporations
are taking 6 or extra journeys a yr versus 31 p.c who did so final yr—one other
downshift.

The Deloitte examine doesn’t point out macroeconomic elements in
play that could possibly be affecting total enterprise outlook. It does parse some
industry-centric stats—airways reporting sluggish enterprise journey within the second
quarter and hospitality analysis firm STR citing “lagging corporate demand”
in a latest forecast replace that additionally famous a 3 p.c drop in group demand
for the second quarter.

BTN analysis, nevertheless, has famous the affect of U.S. financial
coverage and tariffs as a broadly destabilizing issue for the enterprise journey
outlook. The timing of the Deloitte examine in July coincided with the U.S.
administration’s march to full tariff implementation on August 7 and the country-by-country
tariff negotiations that led as much as that time.

With these dates now previous, and a few key softening within the U.S
stance on tariffs, a number of U.S. airways at a latest Morgan Stanley investor
convention have already got marked a enterprise journey uptick late within the third
quarter that they anticipate to proceed within the fourth.

That mentioned, there are nonetheless challenges, with journey prices themselves
chief amongst them.

Fifty-four p.c of journey managers responding to the Deloitte
survey cited rising prices as important issue limiting enterprise journey volumes.
That was 6 share factors greater in 2025 in comparison with 2024.

Other elements rising in significance as impediments to
journey included a continued—and for some corporations, extra intensive—give attention to
actioning their sustainability methods.

Forty-eight p.c of corporations cited sustainability
commitments as placing a drag on their journey actions, in comparison with simply 38
p.c the prior yr. Perhaps surprisingly, coming off a latest period of
pent-up demand in enterprise and leisure journey, 34 p.c of corporations cited an
growing unwillingness amongst workers to journey—up about 6 share factors
from final yr.

Formal journey restrictions in 2025 held regular from 2024, with
about 44 p.c of corporations citing them.

Perhaps a extra attention-grabbing development to observe for upcoming
research would be the shift from tactical journey administration—signaled by such controls
as KPIs on journey budgets and pre-trip assessments—to extra strategic
governance. The Deloitte examine noticed a 3 p.c improve in corporations
evaluating journey technique on the C-suite or board stage. Rising prices, sustainability
methods and probably unsure enterprise outlook could preserve that stage of
scrutiny alive.

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Editor’s Note: Results of Deloitte’s enterprise journey
examine ought to be tempered by the truth that response charges to the annual effort
have fallen lately. In 2023, Deloitte collected responses amongst 334
journey managers to help the examine. This yr, the variety of respondents was
lower than half of the 2023 universe at simply 151.  The 2024 survey queried simply 104 journey managers,
which ought to be thought-about when taking a look at year-over-year comparisons. The enterprise
traveler portion of the survey netted 1,000 responses this yr.