Germany: A Bright Star in Europe’s Sky

Germany holds its position as the brightest star in the European sky when it comes to business travel as strong economic growth and relatively competitive labour markets continue to propel business travel activity. The GBTA Foundation’s recent business travel forecast for Western Europe showed overall spending on business travel in the country in 2014 finished up 7.7 percent over 2013.

Lower energy prices and a weaker euro are both playing a role in boosting the German economy. The overall global economy remains relatively weak though and another potential risk for Germany is fallout from the sanctions placed on Russia over the situation in the Ukraine. Despite this, GBTA projects robust double-digit business travel spending growth this year at 10.1 percent. The strong growth will continue through 2016 moderating only slightly to 9.4 percent growth with annual business travel spending nearing $70 billion USD.

Also, check out the 5 Key Takeaways from the entire Western Europe forecast.