Despite budget pressures, 75% of professionals worldwide expect business travel growth in 2025

Cvent, an industry-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, has unveiled the findings of its 2025 Global Travel Managers Report, offering insight into how sourcing, budgets, and business travel priorities are evolving worldwide. Despite rising travel costs and ongoing economic uncertainty, business travel professionals are approaching the future with confidence. According to the new data, 75% of travel managers globally expect business travel volume to increase in 2025. Still, the report found that business travel spend is predicted to remain about the same in 2025 as in 2024, while 71% of travel managers expect costs in 2025 to be higher than in 2024 – showing how rising travel costs will continue to put some pressure on travel programs.

Cvent’s latest report, based on a survey of over 1,600 business travel professionals across six global regions and eighteen countries, explores expectations and behaviors around corporate travel. Notably, as travel costs trend upwards, there has been a centralization of travel and meetings management, with 91% of travel managers saying they are also responsible for sourcing hotels and venues for meetings and events (up from 64% in 2017). According to respondents, one of the top reason for consolidating the management of travel and meetings is to lower costs, with 83% of those who jointly manage employee travel with meetings and events programs saying that consolidation has resulted in cost savings.

Key North America Insights:

As North American travel managers navigate hybrid work models and economic pressures, they remain focused on fostering in-person connections. Conferences and trainings lead as the most sourced meeting types, even as budget cuts target event and conference travel, highlighting a tension between strategic priorities and financial pressures. Centralized sourcing is also becoming the norm in North America, as technology investment remains strong – underscoring a shift toward more resilient and efficient travel strategies.

• 69% cite event and conference travel as a core reason for travel, the highest globally, followed by networking (52%).
• Top event types facing budget cuts include event and conference travel and trade shows, a stark contrast to the global view, which puts internal meetings, incentive trips and company retreats at the top of the potential cut list.
  • Globally, travel managers also plan to curb costs by negotiating lower hotel room rates in exchange for convenience (25%), reducing the number of people traveling (23%), and sourcing hotels across different brand scales (23%).
• Sourcing management is becoming more centralized, with cost savings (58%) and operational efficiency (48%) as the top drivers for merging business travel with meetings and events.
• Meanwhile, rate strategies are shifting as negotiations become more challenging, with 57% of respondents saying the lack of flexibility is the biggest challenge in travel negotiations.
  • 42% of travel managers in North America reported a preference for a mix of fixed and dynamic pricing, while 25% still rely on fixed rates, higher than any other region.
• Technology adoption is strong: only 9% plan to reduce tech budgets, while 30% are spending more time using tech to research hotel partners.

“In the face of economic uncertainty and shifting workplace dynamics, North American travel managers are demonstrating resilience and adaptability,” said Janine Alsalam, Vice President of Sales at Cvent. “These professionals are finding new ways to balance cost consciousness with lofty corporate goals, ensuring that business travel and face-to-face meetings continue to deliver value across their organizations. It’s also exciting to see companies bringing together travel and meetings, achieving impressive outcomes, with 83% reporting cost savings of up to 20%.”

About the Study

The Global Cvent Travel Managers Report was conducted in partnership with Censuswide between March 25 and April 7, 2025, surveying more than 1,600 travel decision-makers across six global regions and 18 countries. The research explores key topics including travel volume forecasts, sourcing strategies, cost containment efforts, negotiation trends, and the evolving role of technology in business travel management.

Download the full report here.

About Cvent

Cvent is a leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider with 5,000+ employees and 24,000+ customers worldwide as of December 31, 2024. Founded in 1999, the company delivers a comprehensive event marketing and management platform and offers a global marketplace where event professionals collaborate with venues to create engaging, impactful experiences. Cvent is headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C., and has additional offices around the world to support its growing global customer base. The comprehensive Cvent event marketing and management platform offers software solutions to event organizers and marketers for online event registration, venue selection, event marketing and management, virtual and onsite solutions, and attendee engagement. Cvent’s suite of products automates and simplifies the event management lifecycle and maximizes the impact of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Hotels and venues use Cvent’s supplier and venue solutions to win more group and corporate travel business through Cvent’s sourcing platforms. Cvent solutions optimize the event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage millions of meetings and events. For more information, please visit Cvent.com.

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"Travel managers are finding new ways to balance cost consciousness with lofty corporate goals, ensuring that business travel and face-to-face meetings continue to deliver value across their organizations."