Spending on business travel in Germany, Britain, France, Spain and Italy is expected to rise by over 6 percent annually in 2015 and 2016, indicating the European economy is gaining traction, according to a study by a leading business travel association.
Spending on business travel suffered as a result of the financial downturn which led companies to rein in spending.
Business travel bounced back in 2014 and spending in the five western European countries is expected to rise by 6.4 percent in 2015 and 6.3 percent in 2016, a study by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
That will take the market to $210.6 billion in 2016, up from $186.3 billion in 2014.
Since hitting a low of $171.7 billion in 2009, spending on business travel in the five countries has grown at an annual compound rate of 2.4 percent, meaning the 2015 and 2016 rates represent a significant pick-up.
However, the picture is mixed. In Germany, the largest business travel market in western Europe at an estimated $57.9 billion, spending is set to rise 9.5 percent in 2016, while in Britain spending is expected to rise by 6.2 percent, driven by lower unemployment and fuel costs helping to boost consumption.
Meanwhile, France and Italy will see growth of 3.4 percent and 1.9 percent due to their weaker economic growth. The five countries account for nearly 70 percent of the business travel market in western Europe.