{"id":11754,"date":"2026-11-10T16:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T15:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bleisuretraveller.com\/?p=11754"},"modified":"2026-11-11T16:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T15:19:15","slug":"business-travel-trends-rising-costs-and-conscious-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bleisuretraveller.com\/en\/business-travel-trends-rising-costs-and-conscious-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Business travel trends: rising costs and conscious benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By the end of the year, Europe will have recorded around 600 million business trips \u2013 0.7 per cent more than in the previous year. At the same time, according to the GBTA, the costs rose by 7 per cent. Companies are scrutinising more closely which business trips deliver which benefits, according to a VDR survey.<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Amidst all these new developments, the key question remains: which business trips really help companies move forward?\u201d emphasised Christoph Carnier, President of the German Business Travel Association (VDR), last week in Vienna. The \u201cGBTA and VDR Europe Conference\u201d took place there in partnership with the Austrian association ABTA. Almost 1,400 business travel experts from 41 countries attended. The key, the VDR President added, is not \u201cto organise as many trips as possible, but to facilitate the right ones \u2013 where face-to-face meetings deliver genuine business value\u201d.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, the international conference focused on the question of the value of business travel. According to the Global Business Travel Administration (GBTA), business travel expenditure in Europe is projected to reach 404 billion euros in 2026 \u2013 a 7 per cent increase on the previous year. By contrast, the estimated 600 million business trips by European companies and organisations represent an increase of just 0.7 per cent. \u201cExpenditure is therefore rising significantly faster than the number of trips,\u201d note the VDR and GBTA.<\/p>\n

This is consistent with the finding that, in the latest VDR sentiment survey among German companies, 55 per cent state that they intend to manage their business travel more selectively than in the previous year. For more than six in ten, costs have become a more important factor in travel decisions, whilst 45 per cent place greater emphasis on the business purpose and benefits of a trip. In general, business travel remains important for most companies in driving projects forward, maintaining customer relationships and tapping into new markets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

AI in Business Travel: four scenarios<\/b><\/h4>\n
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In light of these figures, the VDR emphasises once again how important professional travel management remains \u2013 one that does not assess business travel solely from a cost perspective, but aligns it with corporate objectives. The association has also just published a white paper outlining the possible development paths for AI in business travel. The study by the Institute of Tourism, Travel & Hospitality (ITTH) at Heilbronn University, commissioned by the VDR and led by Prof. Dr Stephan Bingemer, describes four plausible scenarios for Germany, Austria and Switzerland:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n