Though people around the country are still without jobs and are struggling to survive the business world in general is thriving with the Global Business Travel Association reporting that "Companies will send their employees out on the road a lot more this year, even to conventions and meetings [that] they avoided spending money on during the economic downturn."
It is expected to go up by 5 percent in 2013 to $268.5 billion, a substantial increase from 1.8% growth in 2012.
That number even exceeds the group's previous prediction of a 4.6 percent boost for the current year.
"What we're seeing is a lot of the fundamentals in the economy are improving," said Joe Bates, vice president of research for the association. "So despite the fact that the U.S. government is still dealing with and trying to figure out the broader situation, many other things are going on in the meanwhile, such as housing improving, car sales doing well, and business sentiment doing well," according to USA Today.
When taking a closer look it all makes sense, as the economy was in a recession, the spending was down, but as the things starting getting better, financially and job-creation wise, so did the ability for businesses to put more money to expand their reach and recognition.
The group states that spending is expected to increase 6 percent this year to $115.9 billion. Previously, the group thought a 5.2 percent growth seemed a more fitting number.
"It's another sign of an improving economy overall," Bates said, according to USA Today. "Typically when you have more concerns about what's going to happen with the economy, the first thing people cut are those meetings and events."
On the flip side, though spending will go up, the number of trips taken is expected to decline 1.1 percent to 431.7 million trips this year.
However, Bates isn't concerned, "that's not surprising given that companies want their employees to accomplish more during each trip. A two-day trip could be extended to a three-day trip if the employee can take in more meetings or accomplish other tasks, he says. "We're seeing the productivity of business travel improve over time," he stated, according to USA Today.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
