GBTA releases key figures about global business travel in ITB Asia 2014's opening speech

Press Release (Extract) by : Messe Berlin (Singapore)

Edited by Gan Yung Chyan
               / KUCINTA SETIA

Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

Global business travel spend is expected to reach a record US$1.18 trillion by 2014, with nearly 40% coming from Asia Pacific. This is according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), which released latest figures from its Business Travel Index (BTI) outlook report at ITB Asia 2014, ‘the Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market’.

“The evolution of the business travel sector in Asia Pacific is leading key industry players from across the world to focus more intensely on this market. At ITB Asia, we hope to leverage this strong growth and maintain our position as the region’s main marketplace for business travel opportunities,” said Christian Göke, CEO Messe Berlin, organiser of ITB Asia.

“The MICE sector in particular is growing exceptionally, accounting for over half of the total business travel market. It is a very resilient segment that is outpacing traditional corporate travel. ITB Asia aims to deliver pertinent insights on these key industry opportunities to help delegates leverage the potential,” added Göke.

“The dramatic progress of Asia’s travel and tourism markets, fuelled by the rising BRIC economies, testifies once again to the region’s immense potential for growth. Now, more so than ever, we need to encourage greater strategic collaboration among the leaders of the industry. Over the years, ITB Asia has been incredibly valuable in delivering comprehensive market insights and important networking opportunities. We are confident that STB’s partnership with Messe Berlin will continue to boost the success of ITB Asia and anchor TravelRave’s status as the region’s premier travel and tourism week for the trade” said Neeta Lachmandas, Assistant Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board.

GBTA’s BTI study also forecasts China to overtake the US as the world’s number one business travel market by 2016 and other Asia Pacific countries such as India and Indonesia to grow between 11-14% annually over the next five years.

“In Asia Pacific, there are a number of countries showing high growth in terms of business travel spend. These markets include Vietnam, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We forecast an average growth rate of 7.5-10% annually in these markets,” said Welf Ebeling, GBTA Vice President, Operations, Asia.

“The second fastest growth market in Asia is India which equally to China showed a 16% growth in the first decade of this century. Over the last 15 years, India has worked its way up the rankings of major global business travel markets from number 24 in 2000 to the world’s 10^th ranked market in 2013. GBTA expects India to become the ninth largest business travel market within the next five years,” he added.