Global business travel to grow a fifth this year
Global business travel spending will begin to recover this year but will not return to pre-pandemic levels until the middle of the decade.
According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), spending will increase 21 per cent this year to $842bn (£615bn).
The increase comes after spending fell more than half in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The drop was 10 times worse than those seen after the 2001 terror attacks and 2008 financial crisis.
GBTA director Dave Hilfman said that the recovery would be dependent on the rollout of vaccines around the world.
The tourism industry has been one of the worst hit by the crisis, with airlines and travel firms now into their 11th month of disruption.
Due to the current wave of infections, no sustained recovery is expected for several months yet, with most of the world still under stringent travel restrictions.
Even when controls are lifted, it is expected that short haul and leisure travel will rebound far quicker than business travel.
According to the GBTA’s predictions, business travel spending will catch back up with pre-Covid levels in 2024, when it is forecast to hit $1.4 trillion.