84% of Business Travelers Expect to Attend Events

Key findings from a new survey reveal that 84% of business travelers expect to take at least one trip to attend conferences, conventions or trade shows in the next six months. 

The Quarterly Business Travel Tracker also revealed that, while less than one in 10 U.S. business travelers are uncertain if they would travel in the next six months, the top reason for uncertainty was that meetings and events are not occurring. Corporate policies restricting business travel was the second-highest reason for uncertainty.

Business travelers also expect to resume traveling at a slightly slower pace compared to pre-pandemic levels, averaging about 1.6 trips per month (compared to 1.7 monthly trips pre-pandemic).

The release of these findings corresponds to Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) on April 7, where organizations around the world spotlight the tremendous positive impact created by business meetings, trade shows, incentive travel, exhibitions, conferences and conventions on people, businesses and the economy.

Powered by U.S. Travel Association and the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, GMID has special significance this year as the meeting and events industry moves beyond the pandemic-era trends of virtual and hybrid meetings and returns to live, in-person events.

While U.S. Travel forecasts that business travel spending was still down 60% from pre-pandemic levels in 2021, the Quarterly Business Travel Tracker’s latest data shows a clear shift in American business travelers’ desire to return to in-person meetings.

Another component of the Quarterly Business Travel Tracker, a newly developed current and forward-looking Business Travel Index, shows that while business travel activity slowed somewhat in Q1 2022, business conditions for travel such as GDP and business investment are quite favorable, reaching an index of 105 for Q2 2022 (2019=100).