U.S. companies are missing out on more than $2.4 trillion in potential new sales revenue because they may be underinvesting in business travel, according to a new report exploring the return on investment (ROI) of corporate travel.
Despite a strong post-pandemic rebound, the study found that real travel and entertainment (T&E) spending in the U.S. remains $66 billion below 2019 levels. The analysis shows that a modest 8.3% increase in T&E could yield a 6% increase in sales—even taking into consideration post-COVID investments in virtual meeting platforms.
These are some of the key findings from the report, “T&E and the Bottom-Line: Quantifying the Return on Investment of U.S. Business Travel,” released by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), in partnership with the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA).
U.S. business travel spending represents a 14.6x return on investment—translating to $14.60 in net operating margin for every $1 spent. The report further reveals that across all U.S. industries, the current T&E investment is $294 billion—which falls short of the $319.1 billion, or about $24 billion, needed to maximize profitability.
“This research confirms that business travel is not an arbitrary cost center for organizations—it’s a powerful lever for growth,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA. “And in times of uncertainty and economic pressures, its value becomes even more critical. Yet, U.S. companies are falling short, underinvesting in traveling for work, which is essential for staying competitive in today’s fast-moving and fast-changing markets.”
She added, “While also acknowledging the distinct role of virtual meetings, our analysis broadly shows that companies that optimally invest in productive, purpose-driven business travel can realize exponential benefits in their sales, revenue and profitability.”
Through the analysis of 24 years of current and historical data (2000-2024) across 14 major U.S. industries, the GBTA U.S. ROI study also highlights:
- The gap continues to widen: In 2010, a previous GBTA report uncovered that firms needed just a 2.2% increase in T&E to reach optimal levels. This latest report shows that this gap has now grown to 8.3%, signaling widening underinvestment over time—and the acknowledgment that virtual meeting technology has not been able to bridge that gap on its own, including in more recent years.
- Sector-specific gains: Retail and wholesale; financial services; and health & education sectors have the largest gaps between current and optimal travel spend, showing that even modest increases in travel spending could unlock potential sales gains of $179 billion, $145 billion and $87 billion, respectively.
- Industries missing the most opportunities: In industries like real estate and information & communication, where travel is a core business function, the per-employee gap is even higher. These findings suggest that small, strategic increases in travel budgets could yield outsized returns, particularly in sectors that rely heavily on client engagement, sales and cross-functional collaboration.
- Benefits of a modest leap in T&E: Across all industries, an average of just $184 more per employee per year in T&E could help firms reach optimal investment levels—ranging from $34 in the health services sector to $920 in real estate.
- Efficiency gains: As U.S. business travel spending continues to grow—rising an average of 1.5% annually since 2000 (and in double-digits year-over-year since the pandemic)—companies are becoming significantly more efficient in how they use that investment. While U.S. business travel spending has grown steadily, its share of total sales has declined from 1.28% to 0.72% by 2024. This means companies are generating more sales per travel dollar, improving efficiency while continuing to invest in T&E to drive growth.
- Resilience in uncertainty: Organizations tend to underinvest during downturns—such as the Great Recession of 2008-2010 or COVID-19. However, organizations that maintain higher levels of business travel during those periods are better positioned to recover faster and outperform their peers. Given the current levels of underinvestment, any aggregate cuts to business travel would likely have a negative impact on U.S. economic output and would also cut into the bottom lines of U.S. firms.
GBTA also simultaneously released a similar study outlining the ROI of business travel in the U.K., which revealed a 319 billion pound ($432.7 billion) sales opportunity through a 9.7% increase in T&E spending.
In the coming months, GBTA will release additional follow-up reports that will provide insights specific to corporations and across industries, as well as on the impact of managed travel and the role of travel management companies.
