U.S. Business Travel to Face Headwinds According to U.S. Travel Association

The latest Business Travel Tracker finds American companies increasingly paring back pandemic-era restrictions on business travel amid developing storm clouds in the form of persistently high inflation and a looming recession-pointing to the need for immediate government intervention to sustain a positive rate of growth.

Many companies slashed their business travel budgets during the pandemic, but less than half of companies (42%) still have policies in place restricting business travel-down from 50% in Q2.

Businesses have shown a willingness to get back on the road, with 78% of business travelers expecting to take at least one trip to attend conferences, conventions or trade shows, and 75% expecting to visit customers, suppliers or other stakeholders in the next six months.

In addition to the Business Travel Index, two separate surveys of corporate executives and business travelers form the Quarterly Business Travel Tracker, a product of the U.S. Travel Association, J.D. Power and Tourism Economics.

Headwinds on the horizon
The U.S. Travel Association's forecast projects that business travel's growth cannot be sustained in the long term, leading to a decline in the coming quarters.

The new survey data arrives as economists in the U.S. and around the world sound the alarm about worsening economic conditions. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Monday cautioned that "very, very serious" headwinds-including inflation, rising interest rates and the ongoing war in Ukraine-were likely to tip the U.S. into a recession in the next six to nine months.

With many economists and business leaders anticipating a mild recession in 2023, companies may look for ways to limit investment and travel spending, delaying a full recovery in business travel activity-as reflected in the forward-looking Business Travel Index.

Federal policies to spur business travel demand
In the face of this slowdown, certain federal policies can help offset these headwinds and spur the recovery of business travel. The U.S. Travel Association is calling on Congress to support temporary tax provisions that would encourage companies to restore business travel spending, particularly with regard to spending that supports workers in the food service and entertainment sectors.

Further, the U.S. Department of State should take steps to greatly reduce visitor visa interview wait times to facilitate more international business travel-which have crept to over 440 days on average from top source markets-particularly as the strength of the U.S. dollar is posing a hurdle to attracting international meetings and events.

"Business travel is coming back slowly, and these policies will be essential to keeping employees on the road and helping still-recovering companies weather an oncoming recession," said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman.