Navan Study: Global Business Travel Spending to Reach $2.9T by 2029

Global business travel spending will reach $2.9 trillion by 2029, driven in part by increased demand among small and midsized companies, according to a research report commissioned by Navan from data analytics company Euromonitor.

The research—based on a survey of 756 travel managers across nine countries, conducted from March 14 to April 15, as well as expert interviews and analysis of Euromonitor's own market database—said global business travel spending totaled $2.09 trillion in 2024, surpassing 2019 pre-pandemic levels, and that total is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 6.8 percent through 2029. That growth "reflects renewed confidence in business travel as companies increasingly recognize the essential value of face-to-face interactions, relationship-building and collaboration as core drivers for overall business success," according to Euromonitor.

SME business travel spending is expected to grow at a faster rate, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.1 percent through 2029, according to the report. That segment also has one of the highest average frequencies of travel per employee, the report indicated.

Those totals reflect the "total addressable market" for business travel, which includes all travel expenses related to business travel, regardless of whether it was booked through a travel provider. The "serviceable addressable market"—which excludes expenses that cannot be booked through travel providers, such as meals and parking, as well as leisure travel added to business trips—was estimated at $1.15 trillion for 2024 and is expected to reach $1.59 trillion in 2029, according to the report.

As of 2024, about 35 percent of total business travel spending was managed, booked by companies with a travel management company, according to the report. North America had the highest percentage of managed travel, and the Asia/Pacific region had the highest percentage of unmanaged travel. Of those companies that worked with TMCs, an average of 10 percent of travel was booked outside of those managed systems.

"The size and scope of the global business travel market are large and growing," Navan CFO Amy Butte said in a statement. "With global business travel spend projected to reach nearly $2.9 trillion by 2029 and around 65 percent of that spend currently unmanaged, the research highlights a growing global opportunity."

The research also projects "rapid growth globally" of blended leisure and business travel, especially in the U.S., where such spending is expected to increase by 87 percent between 2024 and 2029.