Ground transportation is worth an estimated $157 billion per year, with annual growth expected to rise at a rate of 4.8% each year until 2032. With this in mind, Booking.com for Business has predicted a fall in aviation travel.
So, what other business travel trends will we see come to fruition in 2025?
2025’s Business Travel Forecast
Growth in ground transportation
Sustainability has become an increasingly important factor of business travel in recent years and has extended to modes of transport.
With organizations working to reduce carbon emissions, rail, and car transportation are increasingly preferred over short-haul flights. Trains are 12 times more efficient per passenger than air travel.
AI-assisted business travel planning
In recent years, the use of generative AI has increased, and this will continue in 2025. Major platforms like Booking.com and TripAdvisor now offer built-in virtual travel assistants to give you suggestions during the planning process.
Corporate travel planners are using AI travel tools like Mindtrip to pull together individual and group itineraries based on data inputs, with users able to make and share schedule changes with the full team in real-time. You’ll also find apps like DeepL that can translate languages, along with virtual assistants and chatbots that can adjust flight schedules and make new bookings should there be a cancellation.
Inclusive corporate travel policies
As global workplaces become more equitable and diverse, current travel trends dictate the need for inclusive travel policies that actively enable people of all backgrounds to feel safe and supported when traveling for work. As such, it’s worth revisiting your company’s travel policy in 2025 to keep in line with these recent travel trends and ensure that access and accommodation options are available for employees of varying backgrounds and abilities.
Virtual reality reviews
Photos alone don’t always tell the full story, which is why one of 2025’s hotel trends is using virtual reality to help temper traveler expectations. Business travelers can virtually tour the hotel with a ‘walk-through’ before deciding whether to stay there. In 2025, this trend is expected to grow to include virtual experiences with a wider range of venues. For example, before booking a meeting space, you can virtually tour the area to ensure it’s suitable for your team. With immersive, augmented reality integrated into apps, travelers gain navigation guidance or information directly on their smartphones.
New Distribution Capability (NDC)
One of the biggest business travel technology trends that is expected this year is New Distribution Capability. NDC is a data interface created by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a new way for airlines to distribute flight content in a more personalized way. It impacts airline strategies by aligning fares to meet market demand using dynamic pricing.
For business travelers and corporate travel managers, this means access to the most up-to-date information in the event of delays or schedule changes. With personalized, data-driven offers based on preference, each corporate traveler will be able to adjust their bookings seamlessly online or in-app.
Business travel safety apps
In 2024’s International SOS Risk Outlook report, geopolitical tensions were rated as on e of the top concerns for organizations. Whether it’s political instability or severe weather events, risks are a part of business travel, and companies must provide a duty of care.
As a result, an increase in tracking and safety apps is expected in 2025. Companies need to know where their employees are and how to reach them in an emergency.
Immersive event experience
Post-pandemic travel trends include the re-emergence of in-person meetings and conferences. In fact, 59% of corporate travel buyers reported that employees were attending more conferences compared to a year ago, as of Q4 2024.
This trend is expected to continue well into 2025, with in-person events increasing revenue and providing networking opportunities. With the rise in business conferences comes an emphasis on using technology to create a more immersive experience.
The lines between festival and networking event are blurred at events like London’s International Confex, featuring everything from digital escape rooms to multisensory content theatres, Romania’s Climate Change Summit, with its 360-degree video footage, or even the must-visit SXSW in Austin, USA, which blends cutting-edge technology workshops with film and music festival vibes.
A personalized approach
In 2025, customization will be the prevalent travel trend to meet the demand for flexible booking experiences. Post-pandemic travel trends have accelerated flexible cancellation policies as standard.
With big data, machine learning, and AI tools able to sift through vast quantities of data, travel companies can use past behaviors and current preferences to provide carefully crafted, individually tailored travel experiences. For example, by analyzing past bookings, the tools may learn that a business traveler prefers specific airlines, travel times, and in-flight services.
Corporate travel booking tools
With so many business travel apps and platforms, there’s no reason why the corporate travel booking process should be clunky in 2025. Manual processes are outdated, whether used for submitting business travel expense reports or booking approval forms. In 2025, streamlined tools are expected to remain competitive. These tools let administrators, planners, and business travelers log into a central dashboard for fully automated efficiency.
The article Booking.com for Business reveals 9 business travel trends shaping 2025 first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.