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GBTA cuts business travel forecasts for Europe

September 21, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

The ongoing economic challenges facing Europe prompted the Global Business Travel Association to generally downgrade from its earlier projections business travel spending forecasts across five major European markets: Spain, Italy, France, United Kingdom, and Germany.

The ongoing economic challenges facing Europe prompted the Global Business Travel Association to generally downgrade from its earlier projections business travel spending forecasts across five major markets. For Spain and Italy, 2012 spending will decline at greater rates than GBTA forecast in the spring of this year, and both countries now are expected to see deeper cutbacks next year than the association previously projected. In France, meanwhile, business travel spending this year will be down more than initially expected and next year will grow at a slower pace than the earlier forecast.

Prospects in United Kingdom and Germany are mixed. According to GBTA, 2012 U.K. business travel spending will be flat versus last year, but in 2013 will grow more quickly than it predicted in the spring. In Germany, where performance has been strongest among the five examined markets, business travel spending this year will grow more quickly than GBTA first projected, but more modestly in 2013 than the earlier forecast.

"As a result of weaker first-half prospects in Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, our 2012 GDP growth expectation for the entire euro area has been downgraded slightly in the fall report to -0.4 percent from -0.3 percent," according to GBTA Europe managing director Paul Tilstone. "With lingering debt challenges and continued austerity measures, the European economy will likely continue to be challenged for years to come. The GBTA's fall report therefore remains cautious."

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