While tourism may be experiencing downturns in the U.S. geography, clearly business travel is in a different lane all together. There are still political issues, tariffs up in flux, and normal global uncertainties we will continue to deal with, yet corporate travel is not only hanging in there but climbing.
A Steady, but Predictable Beat
If you look at the overall data, global business travel grew 2.6% overall year over year. The interesting thing, though, and again this is from publically available sources (SAP Concur ‘22), is that Q1 was strong at 4.5% growth while Q2 grew, albeit at a much lower rate of 0.6%. According to industry sources, that slower growth is simply seasonal cycles of good and bad, which travel is accustomed to:
Who is Flying Where?
Here is the data to see by destination what business travelers will seek in 2025 utilizing the data points in this context from SAP Concur, BCD Travel, and Amex Global Business Travel:
- United States
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- France
- Spain
- Netherlands
- Mexico
- China
So yes, the U.S. is still comfortably in the cab driver’s seat.
Canada… Can’t Quit the U.S.
Here’s a fact, 80% of all business trips into the U.S. are by Canadians (whether that be for work, conferences, etc.). Even though our political climate heat up not too long ago, our business activities still show no signs of slowing. With travel bookings from Canada rising by 0.18%. This is a tiny increase, but we are still in green from last year.
Meanwhile, this leisure travel is saying nah.
By contrast, less tourist towns will be welcoming fewer Canadians traveling by air from Canada, deploy_patterns by flight from Western Europe and parts of Asia are on a decline. You can usually blame it on politics, or stricter expectations or just because we want different things today; leisure travel appears to be waning while business travel is ramping up.
The Comeback Started Last Year.
Charlie Sultan, President of Concur Travel at SAP Concur, acknowledged that the comparatively small signs of recovery had started back in 2024. Overall domestic travel was up 3%, while international travel was up by approximately 6%. That wave of recovery continues to roll into 2025 with corporations returning to their pre-pandemic travel comforts bit by bit.
Outbound Travel Offers a Different Story
One of the areas where the U.S. has not shone, however, is with outbound corporate travel. Flights booked from the U.S. to other locations fell by 2.3% in the first half of 2025. Looking at a further breakdown of results, there was a 1% reduction in Q1, and a drop of 3.8% in Q2. Professionals in the travel industry consider this decreased travel activity as “normal” seasonal activity for the industry.
What’s Next?
According to the U.S. Travel Association, corporate travel expense will not return to pre-covid levels until sometime after 2028. So inbound travel looks stable, however the larger economic recovery will take more time as there is more to do to recover.
