PRESS RELEASE
Landmark State of the Market Survey reveals travel for business set to soar; 42% of corporates forecast to spend more in FY25
16th October 2024 – In the first of its kind, a landmark global State of the Market* Survey for Flight Centre Corporate has revealed that 40 per cent of businesses plan to increase their travel in FY25 (July to June), while 42 per cent of customers intend to increase their travel spend versus last year.
Utilising the innovative Qualtrics platform to survey its customers directly, the business received a random sample of more than 500 responses from flagship brands FCM Travel and Corporate Traveller spanning the globe, providing a true reflection of travel intentions worldwide.
Overall, 10 per cent of customers surveyed intend to travel more than 20 per cent more, 30 per cent plan to increase by up to 20 per cent more, 35 per cent believe the amount of travel will be the same, with only 10 per cent anticipating a reduction. As for intention to spend, six per cent of customers surveyed plan on spending over 20 per cent more on their travel, 36 per cent intend to increase by up to 20 per cent more, 31 per cent believe the amount spent will be similar versus last year, while only 11 per cent anticipate reducing.
Melissa Elf, Global Chief Operating Officer of Flight Centre Corporate, said:
“Corporate travel is now, without question, deemed to be a non-discretionary spend for businesses as a critical facet to surviving and thriving across the globe – evidenced by a significant percentage of our customers planning to increase their travel volume and spend on travel.
“These figures paint a positive picture for the world of business travel going forward and will create flow-on effects for a multitude of destinations as corporates continue to utilise the ‘bleisure’ trend of adding on a holiday to the beginning or end of their trips.
“Interestingly, we’re seeing SMEs lead the charge, with around 46 per cent of small to medium companies having the intention to travel more in FY25, compared to 33 per cent of large market companies that intend to travel more during the same period.
“Businesses, whether they be large multi-nationals or SMEs and start-ups, are vital to the economy and it’s with great pride that we get to deliver our unique blend of the expertise of our people and our innovative technology to service them in their aspirations.”
*The State of the Market survey was conducted online between Monday 3 June 2024 to Thursday 11 July 2024. The target respondents were Corporate Traveller and FCM Travel customers, specifically decision-makers, travel managers, and authorised travel bookers. All Corporate Traveller and FCM Travel regions were included. A random sample of 562 responses were obtained.