Our latest data forecasts the top industries driving business travel in FY24

Industries forecasted to have the highest percentage growth in travel bookings in FY24

Business travel’s usual suspects of construction, mining, and professional services are still booking big, but a few industries have made unexpected leaps.

• Manufacturing is leading the charge with a 51% spike in bookings, a sign that supply chains could be bouncing back across Australia and beyond.
• Healthcare and social assistance is right behind, with a 50% increase in travel bookings, as demand for face-to-face interactions in the sector grows.
• Mining, oil, and gas saw a 49% jump in bookings, proving that this industry isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
• Professional services are keeping up, with bookings rising 47%.
• Construction rounds out the top five with a 43% increase, no surprise, given it’s already the biggest spender on business travel.

The five industries booking the most business travel, according to Corporate Traveller’s latest data

Industries forecasted to spend the most on travel in FY24

Corporate Traveller analysed travel spend across industries during January-April 2023 and compared it to the same period in 2022. While bookings show how many people are hitting the skies, travel spend reveals how much companies are investing in both flights and ground travel.

Construction still dominates by a long shot

If business travel had a heavyweight champion, construction would be wearing the belt. This industry is set to continue its reign in FY24, outspending the second biggest spender, healthcare and social assistance, by a solid 23%. Even with healthcare’s massive 106% increase in travel spend, construction still held onto the top spot, boosting its spend by 98%.

Professional services overtakes mining, oil, and gas

Here’s a shake-up, professional services is set to become the third biggest spender on business travel, overtaking mining, oil, and gas. Both industries increased their travel spend by 95%, signalling potential business growth and expansion.

Manufacturing leads in bookings but ranks fifth in spend

Manufacturing saw the highest percentage growth in travel bookings, but when it comes to overall spend, it landed in fifth place with a 94% increase.

Tom Walley, Corporate Traveller’s Australian-based Global Managing Director, expects this upward trend to continue into the next financial year. “More people in these industries are travelling for work or travelling more often.

“In fact, we expect the rate of bookings to increase more in the 2024 financial year, with governments committing money and resources to large infrastructure, including projects such as Sydney’s WestConnex and the Victorian and Queensland Inland Rail project continuing their cross-state and intercity developments throughout 2023 and into 2024.

“Our data, analysed across thousands of corporate customers, tells us we have a positive financial year ahead of us for business travel bookings and spend. While we expect construction and mining to continue the upward trend in bookings throughout the year, we can also look forward to more businesses travelling from growing sectors such as the professional services industries.

“A combination of Australians’ confidence in air travel, international conferences taking place locally and overseas, and generational projects nearing completion will help to keep travel at the top of business agendas at least for the near future.”

The five biggest spenders on business travel, according to Corporate Traveller’s latest data