Travel industry losses for 2020 are expected to be ten times those of 9/11 or the 2008 global recession, according to the GBTA.
Corporate travel spend fell by 77% in Europe due to COVID, according to the annual Business Travel Index (BTI) Outlook produced by the GBTA, reported in Business Travel Europe.
A 68% global decline in spend to US$738bn (R1,1trn) was shown for the period April 1 to the end of 2020. The GBTA said a relatively strong (pre-COVID) first quarter of 2020 meant that decline in spending for the full year would be limited to a 52% drop from US$1,4trn (R21trn) in 2019, to US$694bn (R10trn) for the whole year 2020.
In the ten years leading up to 2020, business travel had grown by an average of 5,1% per year.
For 2021, the report predicts a 21% global increase in business travel spend, the bulk of which will be in the latter half of the year, as vaccination programmes progress and traveller confidence gains ground.
“The pandemic has been devastating for business travel and it’s clear our industry will take some time to recover, given the challenges we’re facing on multiple fronts. Economic recovery is already under way, although very uneven across countries and sectors,” said Dave Hilfman, interim executive director of GBTA, in the report.
“The continued roll-out of the vaccine will be central to recovery globally, as will decisions the new Biden administration and other governments around the world make, regarding global trade and border and quarantine policies.”
