US business travel spending is forecast to rise nearly 5% during 2015 to $302.7 billion, according to the Global Business Travel Association.
The organization says it would have likely grown more but for concerns for the US economy and other global factors that may dampen demand business travel demand.
"U.S. business travel was poised for significant growth in 2015, but the erratic performance of key economic drivers caused some to tap the brakes on additional travel spending," said Michael W. McCormick, executive director of the GBTA.
GBTA predicts an average 1.3 million business trips per day during 2015 or a 1% year over year increase compared to 2014.
However moving forward, there will be a significant increase in business travel volume in 2016 by more than 3%, the GBTA says.
The findings come from the ‘GBTA BTI™ Outlook – United States 2015 Q2’ which said business travel has recovered by 38% since the 2009 recession.
"While we would like to see the overall growth numbers more consistent, signs are good for a solid end to 2015 and a robust 2016," said Brian Triplett, SVP of commercial product at Visa Inc. which sponsored the GBTA report.
These increases in business travel will drive the transition to electronic payments. In turn, this will help companies reduce costs and track and pay for business-related travel expenses more simply and more efficiently."
