Global travel costs have stabilised and business travel volumes and budgets are poised to increase in 2024, according to FCM Consulting's Global Quarterly Trend Report published on Wednesday (22 November).
The report, based on FCM's corporate booking data from July through to September, projects global airfares will increase between 3 per cent and 7 per cent next year compared with this year, driven in part by inflation.
North American carriers are showing aggressive growth for airline seat capacity next year, expected to be 8 per cent higher than 2019 levels. Meanwhile, in Europe, regional seat capacity is expected to be 2 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels, but between 5 per cent and 7 per cent higher than 2023 levels.
In accommodation, FCM reports that corporate average room rates have "plateaued" over the past six months. In Europe, corporate rates declined 2 per cent in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter, with some of the largest declines in Berlin (down 5 per cent) and Madrid (down 2 per cent). Rates in gateway cities such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London remained flat over the the period, while Dublin saw an increase of 4 per cent.
Car rental rates this year are up 4 per cent globally compared with 2022, though rates in the Netherlands, the US and Australia are down 1 per cent, according to FCM's report. Next year, those increases should moderate to a 2 per cent to 3 per cent increase year over year, FCM said.
With overall travel demand growing, albeit at a more moderate pace than the earlier stages of the post-pandemic recovery, and prices stabilising, "the data suggests that travel budgets and business travel will again increase in 2024, pending economic conditions and geopolitical issues," according to FCM.