The business travel industry in U.S.

It is obvious that, Business travel matters, and it is a critical driver of the economy. For those who are unfamiliar, face to face interaction enabled by business travel remains a critical business tool.

‘The U.S. Business Travel Economic Impact Report,’ reveals business travel was responsible for about 3 percent ($547 billion) of U.S. GDP in 2016.

One can also observe that, for every 1 percent change in business travel spending, the U.S. economy gains or loses 74,000 jobs, $5.5 billion in GDP, $3.3 billion in wages and $1.3 billion in taxes.

The study found that, roughly half (48 percent) of U.S. business trips were taken for transient purposes (sales trips, client services, government and military travel and travel for construction or repair), while 28 percent were taken for group travel purposes. The remaining 25 percent of trips were taken for a combination of business and leisure.

A personal car or truck (35 percent) was the most popular mode of transportation among U.S. business travelers in 2016, followed by airplane (28 percent) and rental cars (13 percent).

Domestic business travel accounted for approximately 94 percent of total trip-oriented business travel spending in the United States in 2016.

U.S. business travelers have an average household income of just over $82,000 and more than 60 percent are men.