More than half of the experts who responded to Tourism Economics’ Travel Industry Monitor 2024 survey for the WTM Global Travel Report cited leisure and business travel as a tourism growth opportunity, making it the top niche mentioned.
The performance of business travel has been “somewhat surprising relative to prior expectations,” the report said. The persistence of online meetings and events after the pandemic was expected to cause its decline.
In-person meetings, however, “continue to be highly valued” and business overnight stays and spending have surpassed previous peaks. The report notes that business travel is largely being organized around business events.
Annual growth in business visits of around 19% in 2024 outpaces growth of around 11% in leisure visits according to Tourism Economics.
Although business travel growth is expected to slow somewhat to around 17% in 2025, over the period 2024 to 2030 such visits are forecast to grow by around 50%, compared with leisure visit growth of just under 30% for the same period.
Importantly, business travelers are staying longer and spending more per trip. While the volume of international business visits currently remains 6% below pre-pandemic levels, the number of overnight stays is 3% higher than in 2019.
These extended visits are partly due to the trend of "bleisure" - combining business trips with additional days of leisure tourism. In this respect, remote working has had a positive effect, according to the report, as it allows travellers to work abroad more flexibly depending on their free time.
However, pure leisure travel, which is also experiencing longer lengths of stay, remains by a wide margin the largest travel segment in terms of volume and spend, accounting for 69% of arrivals and 80% of global travel spend.
Juliette Losardo, Exhibition Director at World Travel Market London, added: “WTM aims to help attendees navigate the changes, ensuring travel professionals are prepared for the year ahead. The production of the WTM World Travel Report supports our commitment to providing attendees with the latest trends that are shaping the travel landscape.”
“Using a comprehensive data bank spanning over 185 countries around the world as destinations and source markets, covering all major bilateral tourist flows in terms of visits, overnight stays and expenditure, as well as unique industry insights, the report offers a comprehensive perspective on tourism.”
An accompanying trend is that global overnight arrivals are surpassing a record 1.5 billion as consumers prioritize travel and stay in the country longer.
Global travel growth will reach a significant milestone in 2024, as international tourist arrivals are expected to reach 1.5 billion, surpassing 2019 figures.
By 2030, overnight tourist arrivals (i.e. international visitors who stay at least one night) are projected to have grown by more than 30% to 2 billion, driven by emerging source markets. Spending is also on the rise. Global leisure tourism spending in 2024 now stands at more than $5.5 trillion, 24% above 2019 levels.
Most significantly, consumers appear to be prioritizing travel, which accounts for a larger share of their spending in major advanced economies than in the decade prior to the pandemic.
Overall, according to data from Tourism Economics, travel spending as a percentage of consumer spending is set to reach 8.8% in 2024, compared with an average of 8.2% between 2010 and 2019. Even in markets like Asia Pacific, where some destinations, particularly China, have lagged in the recovery, travel as a percentage of consumer spending is returning to levels close to those of 2019.
Increased length of stay
Globally, the number of overnight stays in all paying accommodation is expected to exceed 2023 levels by 7% and 2019 levels by 16% this year, according to Tourism Economics. However, the figures do not fully reflect a similar growth in visits, as stays are becoming longer.
Average length of stay for domestic and international travel declined in the decade before the pandemic, but has increased in the recovery period and remains above the pre-pandemic average. In fact, average hotel stay length for international travel increased by 12% in 2024 compared to 2019, more than offsetting the 8% decline over the previous decade.
Several trends are contributing to this lengthening of stays. According to Tourism Economics’ travel trends survey, some people are opting for more in-depth, sustainable, “slow” travel, perhaps reducing frequency in favor of longer, more engaging trips.
Tourism Economics also notes a significant growth in so-called "bleisure" travel, where business travellers are staying longer to devote their time to leisure.
Juliette Losardo, Exhibitor Director at WTM London, commented: “WTM aims to help attendees navigate the changes, ensuring travel professionals are prepared for the year ahead. The production of the WTM World Travel Report supports our commitment to providing attendees with the latest trends that are shaping the travel landscape.
“Using a comprehensive data bank spanning over 185 countries around the world as destinations and source markets, covering all major bilateral tourist flows in terms of visits, overnight stays and expenditure, as well as unique industry insights, the report offers a comprehensive perspective on tourism.”
Source: WTM Global Travel Report.