London, UK — Companies across the United Kingdom are potentially leaving hundreds of billions of pounds in revenue on the table by failing to invest adequately in business travel, according to a major new analysis from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). The study highlights a significant investment gap that, if closed, could unlock substantial sales growth for UK-based businesses.
Published today, the report titled “T&E and the Bottom-Line: Quantifying the Return on Investment of UK Business Travel” analysed 24 years of historical data, spanning from 2000 to 2024. The research encompassed 14 key industries within the UK economy to determine the relationship between business travel spending (often categorised under Travel & Expense, or T&E) and overall sales performance.
Identifying the Investment Gap
The GBTA study concludes that current levels of business travel investment by UK firms fall short of the point required to maximise profitability and sales generation. While the total UK business travel market size reached £40.3 billion in 2024 – a figure £1.2 billion below its pre-pandemic peak in 2019 – the amount specifically spent by UK firms on their own employees’ travel currently stands at £32.5 billion annually.
The analysis identifies an optimal level of business travel investment for UK firms to be £35.6 billion per year. This represents a notable £3 billion investment gap between current spending and the level the study deems necessary to achieve maximum sales potential.
Quantifying the Return on Investment
The core finding of the GBTA research is the tangible return on investment derived from strategic business travel. The study indicates that a targeted increase of just 9.7% in T&E spending by UK firms could translate into an impressive 8.1% rise in overall sales.
Translating this to a per-employee level, the study suggests that an additional investment of merely £94 per employee in business travel and related expenses could help companies reach the identified optimal spending levels. This relatively modest per-capita increase underscores the potentially high leverage offered by strategic travel investment.
Sector-Specific Opportunities
The potential gains highlighted by the GBTA study are not uniform across all sectors. Significant opportunities exist for industries that strategically increase their business travel budgets. The research identified particularly large potential sales uplifts in several key areas:
* Firms in the Real Estate sector could potentially unlock an additional £35 billion in sales.
* The Manufacturing industry stands to gain an estimated £46.7 billion in potential sales.
* Companies within the Information & Communication sector could see a potential boost of £23.5 billion.
These sector-specific figures underscore the widespread applicability of the study’s findings, indicating that diverse industries can benefit from a re-evaluation of their business travel strategies.
Efficiency vs. Optimal Scale
The report also touched upon efficiency trends within UK business travel. Over the 24-year period analysed (2000-2024), firms have become more efficient in generating revenue relative to their travel spending. The share of business travel expenditure as a percentage of total sales declined from 1.1% at the beginning of the period to 0.8% by 2024. This indicates that companies are extracting more sales value for each pound spent on travel compared to two decades ago.
However, the study argues that this increased efficiency does not negate the overall underinvestment problem. Despite getting more ‘bang for their buck’ on travel, the absolute level of investment remains too low to capitalise fully on available market opportunities. The cumulative effect of this underinvestment is estimated to be billions of pounds in lost potential sales annually, culminating in the projected £319 billion over the coming years if the gap persists.
Conclusion
The findings from the GBTA’s comprehensive study present a compelling case for UK companies to reassess their approach to business travel. By identifying a clear link between strategic investment in T&E and significant sales growth, the report provides data-driven evidence that treating business travel not merely as an expense, but as a crucial sales-generating tool, can yield substantial financial returns. The £3 billion investment gap, while significant, pales in comparison to the potential £319 billion in additional sales that UK firms could achieve by adjusting their strategies to meet optimal investment levels.
