Pricing pressures are expected to ease gradually next year, but travel costs are unlikely to return to prior levels, as many of the forces driving higher prices have become long-term features of the industry rather than short-term disruptions.
This is according to the 2027 Global Business Travel Forecast, released this week by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and travel management company ALTOUR. The report examines the economic forces reshaping the cost of business travel globally, including energy prices, labour costs, aircraft supply constraints, currency fluctuations and other factors.
‘Business travel remains a powerful indicator of business confidence. Companies continue to invest in face-to-face connections, customer relationships and growth despite higher costs and greater complexity,’ says Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA. ‘Business travel may need to weather more uncertainty through this year, so a well-managed travel programme is essential. Realising travel’s full value will depend on managed programmes backed by strategic foresight, data and decision-making.’
‘The most acute impacts of the early 2026 energy-related inflation were beginning to ease, but we are likely to see elevated fuel-related inflation for the remainder of the year and the operating environment for business travel is not returning to what it was before,’ says Michael Boult, SVP and chief commercial officer of ALTOUR. ‘For organisations, the priority now is turning volatility into a more manageable and predictable planning discipline. That means using better forecasting, stronger supplier strategies, enforcing policies and gaining real-time visibility across categories and markets to keep business travel moving.’
The forecast identifies energy prices and labour costs as the two most significant forces shaping business travel pricing. Labour costs continue to rise across airlines, hotels, ground transportation and events and meeting providers. Air travel remains the most volatile category in the forecast.
