The trade war is putting business travel in a holding pattern

Business travel was finally making a post-Covid comeback, but recent U.S. policy swings have upended the $1 trillion industry's sunny outlook just months ago.

Business travel’s four-year crawl out the pandemic was on track to continue this year, but the U.S. trade war has scrambled that outlook.

“The big word is uncertainty,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the Global Business Travel Association, which had forecast worldwide spending to surge to $1.64 trillion in 2025, up from an expected $1.48 trillion in 2024. Last year’s estimated total, if preliminary data bears out, would mark the first time the sector surpassed its pre-Covid levels.

But pessimism has risen sharply amid President Donald Trump’s deep cuts to the government workforce and a dizzying range of tariffs. Now, about 29% of U.S. corporate travel managers and an equal share abroad expect business travel to decline this year due to government actions, according to a recent GBTA survey. The expected pullbacks could dent business trips by as much as 22%, the group found.

Industry experts caution that souring expectations so far haven’t translated to a collapse in bookings, despite signs of cooler demand.

Business travel “hasn’t fallen off a cliff,” said Jonathan Kletzel, a travel, transportation and logistics leader at the consulting firm PwC. “It is definitely constrained right now, but will people stop traveling? Probably not. If you’re a sales-heavy organization and you’re not out in the market meeting with your clients, your competitors are.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/trade-war-putting-business-travel-holding-pattern-rcna203561

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