Domestic business travel is declining in the US, and forecasts suggest that international business travel to the US will slow next year, according to a new report
The US Travel Association said in its Travel Trend Index report that while travel to and within the United States grew 2.2 per cent year over year in October 2019, business travel declined 1.6 per cent (the drop-off was offset by a strong 4.4 per cent rise in leisure travel).
The report projected that while domestic business travel will rise an anemic 1.2 per cent through to April 2020, domestic leisure travel will slow to a growth rate of about 1.6 per cent over the next six months.
The news is worse for international travel. The travel association estimates that 2019 will end with inbound international travel down 1 per cent year-over-year, and that the US share of global long-haul travel will fall from 13.7 per cent on 2015 to 10.4 per cent by 2023. Growth in US long-haul traffic is expected to grow at half the global rate through 2023.
The report said that trade tensions and the strength of the US dollar have hurt inbound travel, and that the slowdown in business travel could hint at a broader economic slowdown on the horizon.
