Landmark State of the Market Survey reveals travel for business set to soar; 42% of corporates forecast to spend more in FY25
9 September 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 increase their corporate travel by more than 20 per cent, 30 per cent plan to increase corporate travel by less than 20 per cent, 35 percent 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 corporate travel spend by less than 20 percent more, 31 per cent believe the amount spent will be similar versus last year, while only 11 per cent anticipate reducing.
Angie Forsyth, General Manager of Corporate Traveller NZ, said:
“Despite a relatively stagnant economy, it’s encouraging to see that the data from New Zealand and Australia echoes that of the overall global results. “Almost 40 per cent of our New Zealand and Australian corporate clients both plan to take more business trips in the next financial year, and plan on spending more on corporate travel than what they did in FY24.
“With a recent OCR cut, subsequent drop in interest rates, and more expected before the end of the year - the feeling in New Zealand is certainly more optimistic as we enter FY25. “What we know is that increased business travel is a positive sign of a more prosperous economy as it indicates businesses are prioritising trade, investment, collaboration and expansion.
“We look forward to continuing to help our clients further mobilise their business across New Zealand and the world.”
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.
“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.”
Question: How much does your company intend to travel for business from July to June 2025, compared to July 2023 to June 2024?
| TOTAL | AMERICAS | ANZ | ASIA | EMEA | |
| We will take a lot more business trips (more than 20%) | 10.3% | 12.0% | 6.8% | 15.2% | 15.7% |
| We will take more business trips (1-20% more) | 30.1% | 29.0% | 30.8% | 21.2% | 31.3% |
| We will take about the same amount of business trips | 35.2% | 40.0% | 34.2% | 27.3% | 35.8% |
| We will take fewer business trips (1-20% less) | 8.0% | 8.0% | 7.8% | 12.1% | 7.5% |
| We will take a lot fewer business trips (more than 20% less) | 2.5% | 1.0% | 2.4% | 9.1% | 2.2% |
| Don't know | 13.9% | 10.0% | 18.0% | 15.2% | 7.5% |
Question: How much does your company intend to SPEND on travel for business from July to June 2025, compared to July 2023 to June 2024?
| TOTAL | AMERICAS | ANZ | ASIA | EMEA | |
| Much higher than it was last year (increase of more than 20%) | 6.2% | 8.0% | 4.1% | 9.1% | 9.0% |
| Somewhat higher than it was last year (1-20% increase) | 35.9% | 39.0% | 32.5% | 30.3% | 42.5% |
| About the same | 31.1% | 32.0% | 32.2% | 30.3% | 28.4% |
| Somewhat lower than what it was last year (1-20% decline) | 8.9% | 7.0% | 8.5% | 15.2% | 9.7% |
| Much lower than it was last year (more than a 20% decline) | 2.0% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 6.1% | 2.2% |
| Don't know | 15.8% | 13.0% | 21.0% | 9.1% | 8.2% |
*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.