The?Global Business Travel Association?(GBTA), the voice of the global business travel industry, announces the results of its latest “GBTA BTI Outlook ??Western Europe”?report, a semi-annual analysis of the five most critical business travel markets in?Europe:?Germany, the UK,?France,?Italy?and?Spain.
These five markets together form the lion’s share of business travel in the region acting as a good barometer of the health of the entire European business travel market. The report includes the GBTA BTI, an index of business travel spending that distills market performance over a period of time.
Key highlights of the report include:
– Business travel spending among the five markets is expected to hit?$186.5 billion USD?(?137B) in 2014, a 5.1 percent growth over 2013. The projected rate of growth is expected to increase in 2015 as spending picks up another 6.5 percent growing to?$198.6 billion USD?(?157B).
– The outlook for four of the five markets included in the analysis ? Germany, the UK,?France?and?Spain ? were all revised upward from the GBTA’s expectations in the “GBTA BTI Outlook ??Western Europe?2013H2”.
– Improved business confidence and expectations for stronger economic growth and employment growth contributed to stronger expectations for both domestic and international outbound business travel in Western Europe.
– While the North-South divide still exists and?Germany?and the UK will again lead the way in business travel spending for the rest of the region,?France,?Italy?and?Spain?now appear to be showing solid signs of recovery.
– 2014 is expected to be first year since 2010 that sees all five business travel markets included in the analysis witness gains in business travel spending.
“Continued signs of strength and progress in the European economy and gathering momentum suggest that 2014 will be a transition year, said?Catherine McGavock, Regional Director for?Europe?for GBTA. “At long last the 2012-2013 recession appears to be over and the European economy on a more solid footing. While challenges remain, this is very positive news and bodes well for business travel growth as business confidence rises across the region.”
Outlook Positive, But Challenges Remain
The sovereign debt crisis is far from over, oil prices are always a danger given the potential for?Middle East?supply interruptions and emerging markets currency risk has also recently show the potential for financial shocks.
A new worry is the concern over current rates of disinflation giving way to deflation which can lead households and businesses to delay purchases in anticipation of lower future prices causing aggregate spending to drop.
Country-Level Business Travel Outlooks
Germany
– The German economy continues to remain one of the most robust in all of?Europe. GBTA expects business travel spending to grow 7 percent in 2014 and really pick up the pace in 2015 with 10.6 percent growth ? an unprecedented rate for a market as developed as?Germany.
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Source: GBTA Report: Europe Business Travel Growth Strong Next Two Years, Travelpulse http://www.travelpulse.com/news/business-travel/gbta-report-europe-business-travel-growth-strong-next-two-years.html published Mar 13, 2014. Viewed Mar 18, 2014.