Average transaction value dropped though, amidst average trip duration fall
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Business travel transactions up year-on-year, report reveals
The 8th edition of Global Business Travel Review has been published by The Advantage Travel Partnership and its partner, Travelogix.
The report features a wide range of trends and insights from top business travel industry experts from across the global travel ecosystem, including members of Advantage’s Global Business Travel Advisory Board.
The latest Review provided detailed analysis of 33.7m record of business travel bookings from 01 January 2019 to 31 December 2024 with an aggregated value of £16.5bn in transactional value.
It found that the total of new transactions for 2024 significantly outperformed 2023 by 15.5%, with every month outpacing 2023, bar June, which saw a downturn of 15.48%.
Despite this rise in transactions, the Review also showed that the average transaction value dropped from £429.35 in 2023 to £399.81 in 2024, with a lower average transaction value every month between March to December 2024 compared to the previous year.
This reduction in average transaction value is reflected in the continuing trend of business travellers turning right rather than left and opting for economy classes and this taking a higher percentage of bookings.
Bookings in Economy Class rose from 79% in H1 2024 to 79.81% in H2 2024, whilst Business Class bookings fell from 15.61% in H1 2024 to 14.69% in H2 2024.
Another factor driving this change is shorter trips as the average trip duration also saw a significant decrease of 33% from 6.9 days in 2023 to 4.62 days in 2024 across all cabins.
There are various contributing factors to the decline in both average transaction value and trip duration including changing traveller behaviours as a result of economic pressures and geopolitical tensions, adjustments in corporate travel policies, and evolving blended (a business trip combing leisure travel) travel trends.
Sustainability is also now a core objective for many travel buyers and companies which is emphasised by the change in cabin classes with economy bookings resulting in much lower emissions than business or first-class bookings.
Looking ahead, it is set to be a pivotal year for the business travel sector as companies face significant economic challenges such as inflation, currency fluctuations, and rising tax (UK) as the National Insurance contributions and National Minimum Wage increase from April.
In order to maintain a positive trajectory and to continue growth, businesses will need to manage the external pressures effectively and remain agile whilst adapting to any upcoming macroeconomic changes.
Despite potential challenges in the business travel sector due to macroeconomic uncertainty fuelled by geopolitical events, the outlook for the year ahead remains positive. Forecasts predict year-on-year growth of 8-11%, indicating market confidence tempered by some caution.
The report includes updates from members of the Advantage Global Network - a network of 96 partners in 83 countries.
Mike Owens, director of sales at US-based Sequel Travel, highlighted the demand for high-touch, tech-savvy travel management as private equity and corporate clients in particular look for cost savings, better traveller support, and real-time solutions.
Meanwhile, NDC has been pushed hard by US airlines and will continue to do so in 2025, meaning businesses will need to rethink fare structures, and sustainability has come to the fore with eco-friendly policies being weaved into travel programmes.
The Turkish economy has experienced unique conditions which have impacted all forms of travel, whilst acquiring visas remains another hurdle for business travellers, advised network memeber, Yavuz Atalay, business travel director at Viking Turizm.
Johanna Waara, senior vice president and head of corporate solutions, Europe at Mastercard, shared her thoughts on the trends which will shift businesses away from legacy processes and friction-led payment solutions to innovative optimal solutions including personalisation and AI-driven policy management.
Predicting the future of business travel, Simon Ferguson, Senior Vice President at Modaxo, looks at AI and fintech integration with both set to play a major role as we look ahead.
Focusing on the maritime sector, Paul Cronje, managing director at Clyde Travel Management, looks at the future of maritime travel including NDC adoption, policy shifts and seafarer wellbeing.
The report also offers sector insights from David Oppenheim, director of global sales at British Airways, global car rental company, Avis, and financial services company and B2B payments platform, WEX.
Andrea Caulfield-Smith, Managing Director Global Business Travel at The Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “We’re delighted to have partnered with Travelogix for our 8th Global Business Travel Review which continues to offer fascinating insights to the global business travel sector.
"Each Review reveals new findings as the world around us continues to change at a rapid pace.
"We are seeing companies continually adapting their travel programmes based on numerous factors such as sustainability and economic pressures, whilst traveller behaviour is also adjusting.
"The key findings from this report emphasise that the number of business travel trips is continuing to increase year-over-year but faced with rising costs, sustainability reporting and geopolitical tensions, travel managers are booking differently with less premium class bookings and shorter trips than before," she said.
"Whilst there may be challenges along the way, we expect this to be a strong year for the industry and are looking forward to another successful year working alongside Advantage members and supplier partners as we continue to build upon our One Stop Business Hub and deliver market-leading capabilities to support our members."
Chris Lewis, founder and CEO at Travelogix, said: “As we step into 2025, we must continue spotlighting the trends and data shaping the business travel industry, and doing this with our partners at The Advantage Travel Partnership is a huge privilege.
"As always, the year ahead will present some challenges and headwinds. However, there are massive opportunities for the categories that make up our community, and I look forward to watching these unfold.
