Over 500 business travelers worldwide sent in their thoughts through Qualtrics, giving us a rough peek into what people are planning when it comes to work trips. The mix isn’t neat and tidy, but it sure shows where business travel stands today.
About 10% of those who replied are betting on a jump of more than 20% in their travel, while 30% are looking at a smaller bump, no more than 20%. Then there’s roughly 35% who expect things to stay about the same—and just 10% feel like cutting back on the trips.
A similar picture emerges when it comes to the money side of things. A little over 6% plan to boost their travel budgets by more than 20%, whereas around 36% expect a smaller increase, up to 20%. At the same time, about 31% think their spending level will pretty much echo last year, and only 11% are bracing for a drop.
Looking at the big picture, business travel is now seen as a necessary cost that really fuels growth and sharpens global competitiveness. You can see it in how more folks are eager to not only travel a bit more but also spend a bit more on each trip.
All in all, these findings look pretty promising for business travel and suggest a boost for many destinations. Companies are catching on to the “bleisure” trend—mixing business trips with a little downtime—and that’s happening whether you’re talking about huge multinationals, small firms, or even start-ups. Every one of these players is chipping in to keep the economic engine running.
Over in the EMEA region, the mood for business travel in 2025 is on an upswing. Roughly 15.7% of companies predict a strong leap in the number of trips—often expecting more than a 20% increase—while about 31.3% are eyeing a more modest 1–20% rise.
Budget-wise, things get a bit more interesting. Approximately 42.5% of companies plan to increase their travel spending by 1–20%, which is a notch above the global average of 35.9%. Plus, around 9% see their budgets expanding by over 20%, a figure that tops the global number of 6.2%. At the same time, 28.4% expect to keep things steady, and 11.9% are looking at scaling back a little.
Even with some lingering geopolitical uncertainties, the appetite for travel in EMEA stays strong—leaving room for companies to play around with costs and even develop some greener travel options.