Ana M. López
Research expert covering travel, tourism and hospitality
Business travel in Europe - statistics & facts
Business travel, as opposed to leisure travel, refers to trips made to attend business meetings, conferences, trade shows, and other work-related activities, and does not include regular commuting from employers’ homes to their place of work. In 2020, Europe was the region with the second-highest amount of business tourism spending worldwide, surpassed only by the Asia Pacific region. In terms of the sheer amount of business tourism spending in Europe, Germany reported the highest value in 2020, with roughly 36 billion U.S. dollars. That year, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France followed on the ranking. Meanwhile, Denmark had the largest share of business travel spending in Europe in 2020, with 40 percent of the country’s total travel and tourism expenditure generated by work-related trips.
Travel spending from business meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and trade shows contributes significantly to travel and tourism in European countries. Turkey had the most trade and public exhibitions in Europe in 2019, with nearly 500 events that year. These types of business events are part of the larger European meetings industry, which serves as an important link in B2B operations. The market size of the European meetings industry reached over 500 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, larger than the North America and Asia Pacific markets.
Business trips and travel expenses in Europe
While Germany recorded the highest total amount of business tourism spending, it was not the most popular destination for business travelers in Europe. According to a July 2021 survey, Switzerland was the leading destination for future business trips among European travelers, with over 10 percent of travelers planning to visit the country for work-related purposes. Switzerland was also home to some of the most expensive cities for European business travel as of 2020, such as Zurich, Geneva, and Basel.Travel spending from business meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and trade shows contributes significantly to travel and tourism in European countries. Turkey had the most trade and public exhibitions in Europe in 2019, with nearly 500 events that year. These types of business events are part of the larger European meetings industry, which serves as an important link in B2B operations. The market size of the European meetings industry reached over 500 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, larger than the North America and Asia Pacific markets.
Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on European business travel
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, business travel, like global leisure travel and tourism, came to a halt as many countries closed their borders and imposed strict travel restrictions. Even by 2022, business travel spending in Europe was expected to decrease compared to pre-pandemic levels. During the health crisis, many businesses had no choice but to either cancel physical events or replace them with digital or hybrid versions. When asked about the future format of business exhibitions in Europe, most exhibition companies predicted that virtual events would not completely replace physical events, but there would be fewer in-person events in general and the hybrid event format would become more popular. Compared to other regions around the world, however, Europe was expected to hold more business fairs in person in 2021.
