Business travel demand maintains growth in recent months

Business demand, interest in face-to-face meetings, conferences and events, and positive momentum in the travel industry over the past six months continue to drive growth in business travel, according to FCM Consulting's latest Global Trends Report. The strong performance is seen across all segments.

 

Global demand for flights, according to IATA, increased by 9.1 percent in June 2024 compared with the same month last year, especially on the international side, up 12.3 percent. In addition, occupancy rates were 85%, up 12.7% year-on-year. Domestic grew by 4.3 percent, with an average occupancy rate of 85 percent, up 2.1 percent.

"Total seats offered for increased by 3.04 percent compared to 2019 levels and 6.15 percent compared to 2023. This year is the new benchmark for aviation growth and an upward trend in 2025 , according to Felicity Burke, head of FCM Consulting, APAC.

For its part, according to agency data, global hotel occupancy rose to nearly 70% by the end of the first half of 2024. “As summer progresses in the northern hemisphere, we expect travel demand to grow steadily over the next quarter,”, añade Burke.

Seats offered in 2024 by major global airlines are expected to be 5 % higher than in 2019 and, by comparison, seats offered in 2023 were 2 % below 2019 levels. They are forecast to exceed their 2019 levels by the end of 2024.

Turning to lodging, the average room rate in the top 100 corporate destinations, according to FCM Consulting's business analytics team, was $182, a drop of $5 compared to the first half of 2023.

For its part, in the car rental sector, the global average daily rate in H1 2024 was 54 díl/día, down 26% compared to 2023.

“Similar to what we are seeing globally, business travel in Europe is gradually recovering, driven by strong demand for meetings and face-to-face events. The strong first quarter of the year laid the foundation for continued growth. In the second quarter, business travel continued to grow, and moderate upside is forecast for the remainder of the year, notes Burke.

While overall seat capacity on the continent has grown 3% compared with 2019, and 6% compared with 2023, Europe has lagged behind. The number of seats has stagnated and the number of flights is down 6 % in 2024 compared to 2019 levels. In contrast, regions such as North America are experiencing a faster recovery in capacity, driven by higher domestic demand.

“This limited capacity, coupled with rising operating costs, has resulted in higher fares across the region, with economy class ticket prices in Europe increasing by an average of 13% and business class fares by 5% compared with 2019,

, the expert concludes.