India’s Business Travel Sector Primed for Major Growth

According to experts at a recent Mumbai Corporate Travel Summit, India’s business travel market size will reach $38.2 billion in 2024. This represents an astonishing 18.3% growth from 2023, on top of last year’s 24.7% expansion.

The prestigious Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) collaborated with FCM Travel India to host the well-attended February 27th event. It assembled over 150 directors and executive-level decision-makers across India’s massive business travel ecosystem. 

These top professionals brainstormed the latest technologies, sustainability goals, geo-economic shifts, and other major factors shaping the future of India’s post-pandemic business travel sphere.

India Solidifies Status as a Major Global Market

FCM Travel India’s Managing Director revealed insightful statistics on India’s established global standing. Currently 9th worldwide in overall business trip expenses, India outpaces far larger economies. 

Regionally, India captures a formidable 5.7% market share of Asia Pacific’s corporate travel spending. As the 4th largest market in this group, India possesses immense space to elevate its global ranking.

Advanced Tech, Wellness Travel Help Spur Growth

Behind rosy growth projections lie several propelling factors. Attendees highlighted recent advances in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other tech revolutionizing corporate events, meetings, and marketing.

Additionally, attendees noted surging interest among India’s business travellers for wellness experiences offering unique locales, activities, cuisine and more. Ecotourism, walking safaris, and destination dining emerged as popular examples.

China Reopening, SE Asia Strength Provide Tailwinds

FCM Travel Asia’s leader called attention to current data underscoring India’s bright future. The region at large posted a 44% year-over-year revenue jump. He credited resilient Southeast Asian countries and renewed mainland travel amid China’s reopening for this aggregate increase.

Given these ongoing, overlapping trends, massive near-term opportunities await India and its neighbours through 2025 at least.

Also Read | Financial Reforms to Align India’s Services Sector with Global Trends

Confidence High in Strong Pandemic Recovery

Rounding out the summit, GBTA’s Vice President conveyed confidence in corporate India fully recovering from the pandemic. Pre-COVID business travel spending levels should return as early as 2025 – only two years away. 

In fact, according to GBTA’s models, India may soar past 2019 benchmarks by as much as 20 per cent by 2027.

Business travellers and companies alike increasingly prioritise sustainable practices. Experts at the Corporate Travel Summit noted the accelerating adoption of carbon-offsetting schemes. Offsetting involves calculating a trip’s environmental impact and contributing to ecological projects to counterbalance it.

Presentations underscored business travellers’ growing appetite for eco-conscious lodging, transportation providers, event venues, etc. Attendees concluded that corporate travel sustainability has progressed from niche interest to mainstream expectation. All signs point to environmentally-friendly practices profoundly impacting India’s business travel landscape moving forward.