A fresh look at business travel spending suggests U.S. companies may be shortchanging their own growth by not investing enough in getting employees back on the road.
According to a new study released by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) in partnership with the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), companies could unlock up to $2.4 trillion in additional revenue with just a modest bump in travel spending. The research shows that an 8.3 percent increase in corporate travel and entertainment (T&E) budgets could drive a six percent jump in sales, making the case that business travel remains a powerful force in boosting bottom lines.
While business travel has been recovering since the pandemic, the study reveals it's still lagging behind where it needs to be. Adjusted for inflation, current spending levels are $66 billion below pre-pandemic highs. Even more importantly, T&E budgets are falling short of the "profit-maximizing" target of $319.1 billion by about $24 billion. Companies that close that gap can expect a return of $14.60 in net operating profit for every $1 spent on business travel.
The study looked at 24 years of financial data across 14 major U.S. industries, offering a long-range view of how travel investments relate to corporate performance. While many businesses cut back on travel during COVID and never fully reinstated their budgets, this research suggests that those cuts could be costing more than they’re saving.
Looking ahead, ASTA and GBTA are preparing a second phase of the study to evaluate how managed travel programs—especially those handled by Travel Management Companies (TMCs)—impact financial performance. That research is expected to be released this fall and will focus on how tightly managed travel programs stack up in areas like profitability, revenue growth, and even stock performance.
“The research released by GBTA this week tells a powerful story regarding the value of corporate travel,” said Mark Meader, Executive Vice President at ASTA. “This initial study confirms what our corporate agency members have long known—business travel is not just an expense, it’s an engine for growth. When companies invest strategically in travel, they’re investing in relationships, revenue and resilience.”
ASTA is also teaming up with GBTA to take a closer look at how Travel Management Companies (TMCs) influence key financial metrics across various industries. The upcoming research will examine how tightly managed travel programs—compared to those that are moderately or lightly managed—affect factors like profitability, revenue growth, cost savings and even stock performance. Results are expected to be released in early fall.
“We hope the next phase of our research with focus on the value of managed travel through the TMC will prove that not only modest increases in T&E yield extraordinary returns,” Meader added, “but that managed travel specifically through a TMC is all the more powerful and financially valuable to the corporation—especially in today’s competitive and evolving business landscape. This week’s findings are the perfect segway (sic) to our ongoing research that will release this fall, showing the value of tightly managed travel and the financial benefits of utilizing Travel Management Companies.”
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