WTTC Calls Business Travel a Must for Healthy Global Economy

WTTC Calls Business Travel a Must for Healthy Global Economy

Business travel has accounted for one third of the growth in global trade over the past decade, improved global corporate productivity tenfold and created millions of jobs worldwide, according to the latest economic impact research released by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The report was released May 18 at the group’s Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Las Vegas.

As the world economy recovers from global recession, bookings indicate that companies are still cautious to restore travel budgets. Virtual meeting technology provides an alternative to in-person meetings and environmental concerns are influencing both corporate and government policies regarding travel.

These current industry trends have prompted the latest business travel research that was commissioned by WTTC on behalf of its members and seeks to examine the role that business travel plays in driving corporate performance and in the development of the global economy.

Key findings from the research show that growth in business travel from 2000 to 2007 helped create over 40 million jobs through increases in trade and productivity representing 20 percent of the growth in global employment over the same period. Global business travelers believe that 50 percent of their prospective customers are converted to new customers with an in-person meeting compared with 31 percent without such a meeting.

If business travel were cut by 25 percent for two consecutive years, the WTTC report said, global GDP would be 5 percent lower than would otherwise be the case after a five-year period, resulting in 30 million fewer jobs than forecast under baseline assumptions for the same period -- an average loss of 1 percent of global employment.

Business travel improves corporate productivity yielding a return on investment of 10:1, according to the report. Business travel is integral to international trade and it is estimated that one third of global trade over the past decade has been driven by international business travel.

On behalf of WTTC, Oxford Economics carried out surveys on 500 global business travelers and executives in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, and China. In addition to this, an econometric analysis covering 190 countries tested for causal relationships between business travel and national economic performance. The research was sponsored by American Express Company, Singapore Tourism Board, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and U.S. Travel Association.