European business travel is showing “remarkable resilience and growth,” with spending projected to increase by 8.2% over 2026 to hit nearly €390 billion, according to new figures from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) released at their 10 November Hamburg conference.
Beyond that, despite global financial worries, European business travel spending is forecast to keep growing, to €414.5 billion in 2027 and €441.6 billion in 2028, data that GBTA’s chief executive, Suzanne Neufang said, “confirms for Europe what many in the industry are experiencing first-hand – organisations are continuing to invest in business travel as a catalyst for growth, innovation and connection, even in the face of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.”
The trends are “broadly optimistic,” Neufang said, and appear to point to a post-COVID-19 recovery, as over three-quarters (77%) of business travellers say they travelled the same amount or more this year than in pre-pandemic 2019.
The west of the bloc makes up more of business travel consumption (88%) than the east, a fact seemingly confirmed by the top six European annual spenders: Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, which, between them, account for over €241.5 billion (17.7%) of European business travel spending. Meanwhile, “emerging Europe” (named by GBTA as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Türkiye, and Ukraine) represents just 12% of the regional spend.
Business travellers from the UK spend almost €1,305 per trip, nearly €500 more than the European average of €850.70. At the other end of the scale, Poland and Sweden spend the least (€639 to €646 per trip).
Ranked by expense, accommodation is the costliest outlay, followed by meals and drinks, then flights. But GBTA found European business travellers are more likely to use rail than those elsewhere, with 38% of those surveyed taking the train for their last trip, compared to 8% in North America and 4% in Latin America.
“European business travellers are leading the way in demanding responsible, productive and impactful journeys,” Neufang said, noting that: “At the same time, sustainability and traveller experience are no longer optional – they’re essential.”
Stays average 3.1 nights and are focused on seminars/training, conventions or conferences, and internal face-to-face meetings. A convincing 83% of European business travellers agree that the activity contributes towards achieving business objectives – something unsurprising since, in recent years, they report being less likely (57%) than counterparts around the world (North America 68%, Asia Pacific 70%) to combine business and personal travel.
