China’s business travel market has overtaken the United States to become the largest in the world, the Global Business Travel Association has revealed.
According to the latest GBTA BTI Outlook for China, the Asian country edged ahead the US in terms of total business travel spending at the end of 2015, by $1 billion.
China’s business travel sector was worth $291.2 billion in 2015, compared with US$290.2 billion in the US, but this gap is likely to continue growing, with China’s business travel spending forecast to jump 10.1% in 2016, to $320.7 billion. In contrast, the US growth rate of 1.9% will see its business travel spending reach $295.7 billion this year, Travel Daily Media reported.
“Despite a relative slowdown, China’s business travel market remains one of the fastest growing in the world,” said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA’s executive director & chief operating officer. “China surpassing the United States in business travel spending marks a major inflection point and truly demonstrates the global nature of today’s economy.”
