More than 100 million business trips are made worldwide every year. They are unevenly distributed geographically. A significant portion of business travel is directed to Europe. The structure of business travel on the European continent is dominated by business trips of businessmen, congress tours, trips to exhibitions and fairs, and incentive tours for company employees.
Ranked first in the world in terms of the number of arrivals and expenditures on business tourism, Europe is gradually losing its leading position in this segment of the tourism market. In terms of business tourism growth, it lags behind other regions of the world. During the economic downturn, firms had to save money: they reduced the number of business trips by combining several trips into one, improved communication systems to solve most issues on the spot, booked inexpensive accommodation and bought discounted airline tickets. Unlike European firms, American firms continued to increase their funding. Despite the unstable economic situation, they increased spending on the business part of the trip, saving on organizing leisure and entertainment for businessmen.
A typical business traveler is a middle-aged man with a university degree, a qualified specialist or an executive. English language proficiency is almost a prerequisite for a business traveler.
Germany is the main supplier of business tourists in Europe. Every year, more than 5 million Germans go on business trips, of which 3% go abroad, 21% travel abroad and within their country, and 76% make business trips within Germany alone. The average duration of a business trip to a country on another continent is 12-13 days, within the region – 5-6 days, and within the country – 3-4 days.
Among the European countries that receive business travelers are Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. A special place is occupied by Belgium with its capital
Brussels, which is also the capital of the EU. One in ten arrivals to France and Belgium is for business purposes, and one in three to the UK.
Central and Eastern European countries play a significant role in the business tourism market. According to UNWTO forecasts, the attractiveness of Central and Eastern Europe as a business tourism market will grow.
Business tourism is growing rapidly on the American continent: every eighth trip here is a business trip. The main flows of business people are directed to the United States, Canada and Mexico, which are leaders in all segments of the Western Hemisphere tourism market. In these countries, the number of business trips is growing steadily, but at different rates. In the United States, the dynamics of business travel is in line with global trends in international tourism. In Canada, the volume of business tourism is growing more slowly than the number of leisure arrivals. In Mexico, the growth rate of business travel exceeds that of tourist arrivals.
The flow of business tourists in Latin America is gaining strength. With the development of the economy, expansion and strengthening of trade ties, many countries in this region have strengthened their positions in the business tourism market. The number of arrivals for business purposes to Paraguay, Guatemala, and Costa Rica is increasing.
In Southeast Asia, there is a noticeable increase in the number of business trips: every fifth trip is a business trip, one third of which is to Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Indonesia experienced a real boom in business tourism in the mid-1990s. Demonstrating the highest growth rate of business arrivals in the region, the country surpassed Taiwan and Singapore in terms of the number of business trips by 1995. The financial crisis that gripped Southeast Asia also hit Indonesia. The depreciation of the national currency and deep economic and political crises brought the country to the brink. The massive riots that engulfed Jakarta and the threat of hunger riots led to the curtailment of business ties and the exodus of businessmen from the country. The tragic events of the fall of 2002 only exacerbated the situation.
Tourism in Africa and the Middle East is developing rather unevenly. Ups and downs in the dynamics of arrivals depend mainly on the political situation in the region. The early 1990s were relatively calm both on the African continent and in the Middle East. As the situation stabilized, business activity picked up. In recent years, the political situation in the Middle East has deteriorated again, causing a decline not only in educational, health and religious tourism, but also in business tourism.
In Africa, high growth rates of business tourism have recently been observed in the Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco were the leaders in terms of arrivals. In the Middle East, the main flows of business people were directed to oil-producing countries (Saudi Arabia and others), as well as to Israel and Jordan. The aggravation of the political situation in the Middle East and a series of terrorist attacks in Africa (Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania) led to a decline in business tourism in these regions. The prospects for business tourism development here remain uncertain.
