US-UK Business Travel Subdued But America Remains the Preferred Destination for Corporate Travelers

NEW YORK / LONDON, Sept. 5, 2025 — Despite an uncertain trade and political environment, the US has emerged as the most-preferred business travel destination, even as travel influx in the category from the UK to the US registered a sharp dip in the first half of 2025.

Holidaymakers, by and large, gave the US a miss this year so far, adversely affecting leisure travel to the country. However, according to a report from SAP Concur, the United States emerged as the top destination for global business travelers in the first half of 2025.

Almost 15 percent of all business air travel bookings were to destinations in the US, the report revealed. This travel influx is twice the number of business bookings to Germany (7.7 percent) and the United Kingdom (7.6 percent), which ranked second and third, respectively, in the report.

As the US experiences a robust footfall of global business travellers, according to the latest data from Travelogix, business travel between the UK and the US has seen a drastic decline of 25.67 percent in the first half of 2025.

The global tour operator’s report reveals that while there has been an increased demand for regional European destinations, long-haul flights, particularly to the US, have dropped due to macroeconomic uncertainty, rising costs, and evolving traveler behaviors.

Overall budgets meant for US business travel have decreased by 7 percent, but senior executives continue to opt for premium cabin bookings, indicating that the negative travel sentiment has no major impact on high-end travel.

Know More about US as Top Business Travel Destination

US-Canada Business Travel: Industry data has revealed that business travel between Canada and the US has remained static, with the US accounting for nearly 80 percent of outbound business trips made by Canadians.

Despite fissures in relations between the two countries, international business booking volume rose slightly (0.18 percent) in Canada in the first half of 2025 from the same period last year, the data showed. As per the report, the top international destinations for business travelers in the first half of 2025 were the US, Germany, UK, Canada, France, Spain, Netherlands, Mexico, China, and Italy.

Negative Sentiment Diluted: The SAP Concur report, coupled with data from BCD Travel and American Express Global Business Travel, shows that a negative perception regarding the US in countries such as Canada, Western Europe, and some parts of Asia is not impacting plans of prospective travellers who have corporate interests in the United States.

“Business travel to the U.S. seems to be business as usual,” said Charlie Sultan, president of Concur Travel at SAP Concur. “In the first half of 2025, we saw a 1 percent increase in inbound business travel volume to the U.S. compared to the first half of 2024.”

Growth in Comparison to Global Trend: This slight increase in inbound travel to the US is lower than the 2.6 percent year-on-year rise in global business travel volume, which dropped from 4.5 percent in the first quarter to 0.6 percent in the second quarter, the report showed. However, the decline, which came after recent US policies drew criticism from several countries, was in line with normal seasonal travel patterns and is “not surprising,” according to Concur’s report.

“In 2024, we really started to see business travel come back. Domestic trips were up about 3 percent, and international trips grew nearly 6 percent globally,” Charlie told CNBC Travel. “With that kind of momentum, we expected the trend to continue into 2025. And so far, that’s what we’re seeing.”

What are Outbound and US-UK Travel Trends

While business travellers continued to visit the US, a dip in outbound US business travel may show few signs of slowing down, but the same cannot be said of outbound bookings by American business travellers, said the SAP Concur report.

International business travel from the US dropped 2.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, according to the report.

The first quarter saw a modest year-on-year drop of 1 percent, followed by a larger 3.8 percent drop in the second quarter, it showed. However, the report highlights that this fall “is consistent with seasonal trends.”

The U.S. Travel Association made a projection in January this year, stating that business travel would be “slower than other verticals” in 2025, with spending not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until after 2028.

The fewer UK-US business trips show broader shifts in the corporate travel landscape. According to the Global Business Travel Review from Travelogix, total spending across all business travel destinations saw a reduction of 4.92 percent compared to the previous year. However, a closer look at the data reveals that regional travel in Europe has gained momentum, with destinations like Amsterdam, Geneva, and Dubai surpassing previous booking numbers to become some of the top destinations for UK travelers.

Overall spend on US business travel from UK has decreased by 7%, but senior executives still favor premium cabin bookings, suggesting that high-level travel remains somewhat insulated from the broader decline.

Inputs from Saqib Malik

Editing by David Ryder