Business Travel News

Abu Dhabi tourism tax scrapped for events
Abu Dhabi has removed the tourism fee taxation on event organisers across the capital. Event organisers will now be exempt from the 10 percent tourism fee for each ticket sold.

MEA region expected to return to pre-pandemic levels of business travel spend by 2024
Business travel in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is recovering more rapidly than in any other region, according to the most recent Business Travel Index™ Outlook annual forecast and outlook (2022), from the Global Business Travel Association

A RETURN TO NORMALITY, BUT DELAYED
For business travel, the return to pre-pandemic normality has been moved back two years to 2026. Inflation, China’s economic problems and the effects on global supply chains were among the reasons listed by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) on Wednesday at ITB Berlin 2023. Basic parameters concerning business travel had also changed, said Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the GBTA

World MICE Awards announces 2022 winners
World MICE Awards – the global initiative to recognize and reward excellence in the MICE industry – has announced the highly-anticipated winners of its 2022 programme. The finest MICE brands from across the globe have been revealed at the star-studded Gala Ceremony in Amman, Jordan.

Innovations Influencing the Evolution of Business Travel, Meetings and Events
Around 1.3 million business trips are taken per year, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). Though this average decreased from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world are now eager to connect and return to in-person events and business travel.

Wyndham’s Meetings Collection Goes Global, Grows to Over 160 Hotels and Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,000 hotels across more than 95 countries, today announced the global expansion of The Meetings Collection, which now includes over 160 hotels and resorts across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announces signing of voco Brussels City North
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, is delighted to announce the signing of voco Brussels City North, marking entry into a new market. The first of its kind in Belgium, voco Brussels City North will focus on innovation, and symbolises the future of hospitality.

American Express Global Business records uptick in travel spending
American Express Global Business Travel has announced the results of its 2015 EVP Barometer. The results show that business travel spending increased by 1.42 per cent in 2015, more than twice the rise anticipated in the 2014 Barometer. In addition, “safety and security” has overtaken “cost control” to be the number one priority of company executives when considering business travel.

U.S business travel shrugs off wintry weather
Despite a record-breaking winter where the effects of the polar vortex and back-to-back snowstorms halted travel across much of the U.S., business travel is expected to continue its surge in 2014. The Global Business Travel Association today significantly increased its forecast for the year, driven in large part by healthy corporate profits, rising management confidence and increased job development – a continued positive sign for the U.S. economy.

Business travel spending gains momentum as economy improves
An improving economic outlook with business and consumer confidence on the rise is expected to boost business travel in 2013, leading the Global Business Travel Association to upgrade its forecast for the year. Stronger corporate profits, increasing job development and improvements in key export markets are fueling business travel spending after a sluggish fourth quarter that was dampened by political uncertainty due to the “fiscal cliff” debate.

Business travel in emerging markets soar
Emerging markets drive global business travel spending up 4.5% in 2011 to over $1 Trillion

European business travel spending set to bounce back in 2013
International business travel spending from the UK, Germany and France is expected to drop this year, but will make a recovery in 2013, according to latest forecasts from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).