Over the next two years, travel will become more expensive, and this is a global trend. This is the conclusion reached in the seventh annual Global Business Travel Forecast by experts from the CWT and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). The report cites rising demand, capacity constraints and environmental demands from travelers, as well as higher labor and energy costs as the top drivers for the price increases.
The growth in business travel is well under way, according to Michelle McKinney Frymire, CEO of CWT. This happened after, for example, the prices of air tickets in the business travel sector dropped by 31%. According to the report, experts expect airfare to rise 3.3% in 2022 and 3.4% in 2023.
MICE demand will grow in the first half of 2022
World hotel prices are expected to rise even more dramatically, 13% in 2022 and another 10% in 2023. However, in many markets it will take some time before the 2019 price level is reached again.
CWT Meetings & Events expects most short-horizon meeting bookings to be small and regional in nature. Virtual and hybrid encounters have played a pivotal role in 2021. The number of participants in face-to-face meetings decreased in 2021 from 42 participants per meeting in 2019 and 2020 to 24 people.
Many companies nowadays prefer to hold small regional meetings rather than long travel events. However, as restrictions are gradually being lifted and pent-up demand is driving more and more attendees to the meetings, this is expected to change in 2022, the report said. According to expert estimates, the demand for meetings and events will grow by 53% in the first half of 2022 compared to 2021.