China Leads the Business Travel Market

This is one of the key findings from the GBTA BTI™ Outlook – China 2016 H1, a report by the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), sponsored by Visa, Inc. Revised figures in this new report from the GBTA Foundation show China edged past the United States in total business travel spending at the end of 2015 by a billion U.S. dollars, finishing the year with $291.2 billion in spend compared to $290.2 billion respectively.

China will soar ahead in 2016 with business travel spend forecast to grow 10.1 percent to $320.7 billion USD, compared to 1.9 percent growth in the United States and $295.7 billion USD in total business travel spend.

“Despite a relative slowdown, China’s business travel market remains one of the fastest growing in the world,”said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. “China surpassing the United States in business travel spending marks a major inflection point and truly demonstrates the global nature of today’s economy.”