The rise of ‘bleisure’ trips: How post-pandemic business travel will change

Global business travel is clawing its way back to normal after being decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid shift to videoconferencing and virtual events, according to data from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

Hit hard by the pandemic, global business travel activity plummeted 53.8% in 2020, generating just $661 billion in revenue — down from $1.43 trillion in 2019. That figure rose to $754 billion last year, is expected to top $1 trillion in 2022, and return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with revenues topping $1.48 trillion, according to the GBTA’s Business Travel Index (BTI) report released