Skift Take
It looks like 2018 could be the year that business travel growth truly peaks. With the specter of trade wars, Brexit, and financial instability on the horizon, the sector's financial outlook may change in a hurry.
There's a big reason the mood was so breezy at the Global Business Travel Association's (GBTA) annual convention in San Diego this year. The 7,000 business travel professionals on hand were busy, trying to make the most out of an unprecedented period of growth for the sector.
New research from GBTA and Rockford Analytics shows that 2018 will be perhaps the best year on record for the growth of the global business travel sector, signaling an end to the uncertainty that has come to define the industry after the Great Recession.
Last year, business travelers worldwide spent $1.33 trillion, a 5.8 percent increase over 2016. Projections for 2018 show an expected increase of 7.1 percent, the biggest jump since the bounce-back period foll
