Voyages d’affaires en Europe : le rapport de Navan

It’s a fact: business trips to Europe are growing steadily since 2021. According to the latest Business Travel Index Outlook report from GBTA.¹, business travel spending in Europe grew faster in 2022 in Europe than in any other region of the world. This trend continued through 2023 and into 2024, with numbers expected to exceed pre-COVID levels by 2025.

At the same time, travel managers seem to have only one concern in mind: rising prices for flights, hotel nights and train tickets. How do you keep your travel budget under control and remain profitable despite skyrocketing prices? These fears could not be more justified: between 2021 and 2022, the price of travel continued to increase. With the reopening of borders and the resumption of commercial activities, the demand for business travel and leisure stays has literally exploded and the price of travel has exceeded the rate of inflation basis for most of the last two years. Then in 2023, the demand gradually slowed down and the transport capacity increased, which led to the stabilization of prices.

Combined with a tightening of macroeconomic conditions, resulting among other things from high interest rates, the increase in the cost of travel has prompted companies to focus on reducing their travel budgets. A change that is not always evident in a constantly evolving sector and a fragmented market. What strategy should you adopt? How to change the habits of the traveler? What innovations should we bet on? Here NDC, a new method of air content distribution that shakes up the market, allows for example a 12% saving in flights. For companies, it therefore becomes crucial to choose a provider that works closely with major airlines to offer as many NDC connections as possible and lower prices to their customers.

Because the sector is unanimous: these trips are important, and even more important than ever. Indeed, if COVID showed us how technology could be an important ally to stay connected in times of confinement, the pandemic also showed us how essential human connections were.

The return of business trips in the last three years highlighted the importance of face-to-face meetings to maintain successful professional connections and has proven that human connections are at the heart of all business activities. In Navan’s latest report on the state of the business travel sector and spending, 90% of travel managers and business travelers surveyed said travel is essential to a company’s growth. Therefore, companies are working to optimize their travel policies to minimize costs while maximizing travel opportunities for their employees.

This is only part of the complex puzzle what constitutes business travel in Europe. All-in-one solution for managing business trips and expense reports, Navan he examined its development and recorded these lessons in his report Business travel in Europe: developments and future prospects. The latter offers an overview of the transformations observed in the business travel sector since 2021 and the main trends that will emerge in the region for the coming years.

The purpose? It allows travel managers and decision makers in the business travel sector to build a travel strategy in line with market realitywhether in terms of prices, content distribution or new traveler habits, and give them the keys to reduce their travel budget while encouraging employees to travel.

¹ GBTA report Business travel index perspective