Report Shows Business Travel is Booming
The report was released during the WTTC Global Summit in Bangkok, and it showed that the fastest growth in the business travel sector is expected in emerging markets like Asia-Pacific, which is expected to increase at a rate of 6.2 percent each year through 2027.
In terms of fastest-growing markets, China leads the way with 9.5 percent growth, followed by Myanmar at 8.7 percent, Rwanda and Gabon at 8.5 percent, Hong Kong at eight percent, Tanzania at 7.9 percent, Cambodia at 7.4 percent and India at 7.2 percent.
“Every day we see business travel growing at a significant rate in many emerging markets with technology playing an in increasingly important role in easing the way for those on trips for their work," Travelport CEO Gordon Wilson said in a statement. “As an industry, we need to continue to invest in the best technologies and infrastructure whilst governments need to be more business-friendly by removing burdensome visa requirements."
READ MORE: REPORT: Travel Industry Boomed Big Time in 2016
The United States, China, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan remain the largest Business Travel markets, according to the WTTC report.
“Travel & Tourism generates USD$7.6 trillion in GDP and supports over 292 million jobs," WTTC CEO David Scowsill said in a statement. “Business travel is a vital part of the sector, and it is a key catalyst for global growth. It drives the relationships, investments, supply chains and logistics that support international trade flows."
In addition, the report also revealed that eight of the top 20 fastest growing business travel destinations have introduced visa improvements to help economic growth. Part of the reason behind the continued growth around the world is the emergence of technology which supports tourists and travel companies and corporate travel agencies.
The WTTC report focuses on travelers wanting mobile phone alerts and information about disruptions, flight updates and upgrades, and how the industry needs to focus on serving digitally-connected millennials in order to engage customers more effectively.
