Skift Take
While growth prospects for business travel spending look strong for next year into 2020, there is still enough uncertainty that experts are adding lots of caveats to their forecast.
Spending on business travel around the world puttered along in 2016, rising a less-than-expected 3.5 percent to $1.26 trillion, according to a new report this week.
The outlook, according to the Global Business Travel Association, improves somewhat this year and more moving into 2018 and beyond — but as recent history has shown, those forecasts could be dashed by unexpected global events.
"Stronger footing in emerging markets and continued economic stimulus in the developed world has supported global stability leading to a positive forecast that is unfortunately clouded with more uncertainty than we have seen in decades," GBTA executive director and chief operating officer Michael McCormick said in a statement.
After increasing nearly 4 percent in 2015
