Making an impact: Business travel powering local economies

According to a new impact study by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), from New York to Tokyo to London to São Paulo and around the world, business travel is powering local economies far beyond airports, hotels and conference centres.

The study found that business travel and business travellers generated an estimated $283 billion in total economic activity across 25 of the world’s leading business destinations.

Based on 2024 data, the study finds that $178 billion in business traveller spending across the 25 cities* supported 1.4 million jobs and contributed $93 billion to local GDP.

It also generated nearly $54 billion in wages and $55 billion in tax revenue, demonstrating the outsized economic impact of business travel on cities around the globe.

The $178 billion in spending accounts for roughly 12% of the $1.47 trillion in worldwide business travel spending reflected in GBTA’s Business Travel Index.

The new global economic impact study, conducted with Rockport Analytics, measures the role and value of business travel from the destination perspective. This includes examining what domestic and international business travellers spend while in a city for the purpose of work and the resulting economic activity that their spending generates throughout local economies.

Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA, observed that: “Business travel is a powerful driver of economic growth and this study reflects its far-reaching impact. When people travel to meet, collaborate and build relationships, the benefits extend well beyond the traveler and their organization, generating jobs, income, tax revenue and opportunity in communities around the world. More than a catalyst for commerce, business travel is an investment in economic opportunity and sustained growth for communities worldwide,”

Business travel spending is concentrated in some of the largest destinations in the world. Seven cities each exceeded $10 billion in 2024 and together accounted for more than $108 billion, or 61% of the total across the 25 cities studied.

Cities ranked by business travel spending (all figures in U.S. dollars) and include New York, Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Paris, Los Angeles and Chicago.

But the GBTA notes that significant business travel activity extends well beyond these seven, across North America, Europe, and Asia, and into commercial centres in the Middle East, Latin America and Australia.

The next tier of cities for spending impact included Washington DC ($9.4 billion), San Francisco ($6.9 billion), Amsterdam ($5.6 billion), Singapore ($5.2 billion), Frankfurt ($4.7 billion) and Sydney ($4.7 billion). Delhi, Helsinki, Oslo, Dubai and São Paulo each recorded business travel spending of between $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion.

Every Business Travel Dollar Spent Generates $1.59 in Local Economic Activity

Business traveller spending has impact beyond the businesses that serve travellers directly. As local businesses serve travellers, they buy from local suppliers, generate wages spent again in the local economy, and create jobs. Across the 25 cities, every dollar of business travel spending generated approximately $1.59 in total sales for local businesses, 52 cents in GDP, and 31 cents in tax revenue. On average, every $1 billion of business travel spending in a destination supports approximately 7,800 jobs.

*25 cities in alphabetical order: Amsterdam, Chicago, Copenhagen, Delhi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, New York City, Oslo, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Vienna, Washington DC.

Go to www.GBTA.org for more.