U.S. companies may spend more on business travel in 2013

This year U.S. companies are likely to spend more on business class tickets for their employees, a new business travel forecast released recently has said.

The report indicated that the U.S. companies are in a mood to spend more on business travel in 2013 amid growing signs that the country’s economy is going to stabilize further and the scenario is optimistic as well.

The findings were released by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), a group of business-travel and meetings managers.

The report has projected that the overall business travel spending in the U.S. is likely to increase by 4.6 percent in 2013, to $266.7 billion.

The report cited the pent-up need to sit face to face with clients, coupled with off-site meetings and increased spending on international trips, as key factors to drive this growth.

According to the GBTA estimates, companies on average have gained $20 in additional profits for every $1 spent on corporate travel.

The report, however, outlined that the growth is likely to make its greatest surge in the last half of the year. This also clearly hinges on what positive finally comes out of the ongoing federal deficit debates, corporate tax rates and other economic issues.