Business travellers should expect to pay significantly more for flights and rooms in the coming year, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) says.
Hotel prices are projected to increase 3.7 per cent, while airfare costs are expected to rise 2.6 per cent, according to GBTA’s Global Travel Forecast, produced in cooperation by Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
Rising fuel prices are driving increases in airfare costs, while increased demand is pushing hotel prices upward.
“Prices are expected to spike in many global markets even as inflation remains subdued,” said Kurt Ekert, president and CEO of Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
Airfare prices in North America are expected to rise just 1.8 per cent, but the cost of flying will increase more dramatically in many parts of Asia and Europe, the report projects.
Airfares in New Zealand are expected to increase 7.5 per cent and Indian airfares are predicted to jump 7.3 per cent, for example. Airfares in China are expected to increase 3.9 per cent.
The report expects flights to cost 3.9 per cent less in Japan, however, thanks to capacity increases being made in anticipation of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
In Europe, airfare prices are expected to rise 4.8 per cent, with notable increases in Norway (11.5 per cent), Germany (7.3 per cent), France (6.9 per cent), and Spain (6.2 per cent). Prices are expected to fall in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America, however.
Hotel prices are expected to rise 2.1 per cent in North America, 5.1 per cent in the Asia Pacific region, and 5.6 per cent in Western Europe, but fall 1.9 per cent in Eastern Europe, 1.5 per cent in Africa and the Middle East, and 1.3 per cent in Latin America.
