Travel budgets are set to increase this year across the UK and Europe despite pressure to reduce costs, according to the latest research by the Business Travel Show Europe.
According to the study, which surveyed more than 300 travel managers in December 2023, 51 per cent of European travel and procurement managers expect budgets to increase in 2024, while 28 per cent expect budgets will remain the same as the previous year. Only 18 per cent predict a decrease in travel budgets amid inflationary pressure.
Most corporates (75 per cent) also reported they are ready for the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will require organisations in the EU to submit “significant” Scope 3 indirect emissions data from 2024 onwards.
After 24 months of continually rising prices, the pressure on travel managers to rein in spending is mounting, with 43 per cent stating hotel and airline pricing are among their biggest challenges for 2024.
Nevertheless, 37 per cent of buyers reported their organisations have already reached or exceeded 2019 travel volumes and a further 23 per cent expect to reach pre-pandemic levels of business travel this year.
Only five per cent of corporates said travel volumes will never return to 2019 levels, largely due to sustainability goals and efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Duty of care is also among the challenges facing travel managers in 2024 (according to 22 per cent of respondents), along with ‘globalisation’ (17 per cent) and appointing a new TMC (20 per cent).
Commenting on the findings, BTN Group executive vice president, Louis Magliaro, said: “This new data is incredibly positive to see and wholly reflective of an increasingly healthy industry that is more than back on track following the pandemic, something that was far from guaranteed even two years ago.”
This year’s Business Travel Show Europe will take place on 19-20 June at ExCel London.