Nearly three-quarters of buyers expect their travel budgets to increase or hold steady next year, and most said they don't expect economic concerns to limit business travel at their company, according to a Global Business Travel Association Outlook Poll released Monday.
The poll, fielded from Oct. 11 through Oct. 19, tallied 865 total responses globally, 47 percent of which came from either travel managers and buyers or procurement or sourcing professionals. Among those buyer and procurement respondents, 39 percent said their company's 2024 travel budget would be higher than this year's, and an additional 5 percent said it would increase "significantly" more, by at least 25 percent year over year. Twenty-eight percent said their budgets would stay the same next year, while 20 percent said budgets will be lower. The remaining 8 percent didn't know what their budgets will be next year.
Only 14 percent of buyer and procurement respondents said they currently are implementing a plan to limit business travel because of economic concerns, according to GBTA. An additional 25 percent said they are considering limits but have not yet made a decision. A quarter of respondents also said limiting business travel due to economic concerns was unlikely, alongside 32 percent who said they are taking a "wait-and-see approach" but are not seriously considering limits to business travel.
The poll also showed some softening in buyers' attitudes on New Distribution Capability technology from April, though most buyers still indicate they are at sea in terms of NDC strategies.
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