Business travel in the U.S.A. continued to significantly outperform the leisure sector during the first half of 2026, according to the latest Navan Business Travel Benchmark (BTB).
The AI-powered business travel and expense platform reported that corporate travel volumes increased 13.5% year over year, while broader leisure travel remained virtually unchanged. By comparison, US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger volumes increased just 0.5% over the same period.
The benchmark reached a record index level of 189.1 in the first half of 2026, compared with 121.1 for the TSA Passenger Index. The 68-point gap marks the widest divergence between business and leisure travel since Navan launched the benchmark in the first half of 2023.
Since then, the Navan BTB has increased by 63.6%, while the TSA Passenger Index has risen only 7.2%, highlighting the continued resilience of corporate travel demand.
“Travel is highly seasonal, but the divergence between business and leisure in the first half of this year was more pronounced than we’ve seen,” said Aurélien Nolf, Navan’s Chief Financial Officer. “Even as broader travel plateaued, businesses kept investing in face-to-face interactions because of their essential role in driving growth, serving customers, and building teams.“
Companies absorb higher travel costs
Despite rising airfares, companies continued to increase travel activity. Domestic business travel spending climbed 21.5% year over year, while trip volume increased 8.8%, indicating businesses were willing to absorb higher costs to maintain in-person meetings.
Hotel demand also remained robust. Domestic hotel bookings rose 11.1%, while international hotel reservations increased 9.8%.
Airfares continued to rise throughout the period. Average domestic ticket prices across all cabin classes increased 14.4%, while international fares were up 9.1%.
Travelers also increasingly opted for premium cabins. Domestic business and first-class bookings increased 17.0%, while international premium cabin bookings jumped 19.3%, outpacing overall travel growth.
Professional services leads industry growth
Professional Services posted the strongest increase in business travel, with volumes rising 44.6% year over year.
Other fast-growing sectors included:
-
Government & Public Sector: +28.5%
-
Transportation & Logistics: +27.8%
-
Energy & Utilities: +26.2%
-
Non-profit Organizations: +22.9%
Ground transportation sees strongest gains
Ground transportation expenses continued to outperform most other travel categories. Taxi and rideshare spending increased 23.7%, while spending on public transportation, tolls and parking rose 19.8%, reflecting increased travel to meetings, conferences and customer visits.
One category moved in the opposite direction. Spending on internet access fell 29.4%, largely because complimentary inflight Wi-Fi has become increasingly common across airlines.
Phil Mackintosh, Chief Economist at Nasdaq, said the benchmark demonstrates that companies continue to see travel as an important driver of business growth.
“The latest benchmark shows that companies are continuing to invest in reaching new markets to drive growth and are absorbing higher costs as a sign of confidence that business will keep moving,” he said.
