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Small and midsize enterprises look to be holding travel steady—and even growing their spend—amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
The vast majority is paying little heed to the distractions and are forging ahead with their original budgets and plans, as of mid-May when BTN Intelligence surveyed SME travel program managers about their outlook and current practices. Still, cost is top of mind for SMEs, and increasing budgets may not be wholly an indicator of a bullish outlook.
The first-quarter U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index survey (conducted Jan. 28 to Feb 14) showed inflation continues to be the small business owner’s top concern by far, with 58 percent of small business citing it as their top concern. Revenue generation was also a growing concern, rising 10 percentage points across survey respondents to 35 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter.
Industry observers told BTN that SMEs tend to execute on planned travel to support their businesses, to get in front of clients and generate revenue. They have fewer edges to trim even when economic uncertainties might put pressure on them to cut costs. As such, the rising cost of travel may simply be the rising cost of business and may not indicate additional trips or voluntary investment.
Read the latest report from BTN Intelligence on how Small & Midsize Travel Programs are meeting cost and other challenges in 2025 and how they are interfacing with suppliers, travel management partners and innovation opportunities...
Small and midsize enterprises look to be holding travel steady—and even growing their spend—amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
The vast majority is paying little heed to the distractions and are forging ahead with their original budgets and plans, as of mid-May when BTN Intelligence surveyed SME travel program managers about their outlook and current practices. Still, cost is top of mind for SMEs, and increasing budgets may not be wholly an indicator of a bullish outlook.
The first-quarter U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index survey (conducted Jan. 28 to Feb 14) showed inflation continues to be the small business owner’s top concern by far, with 58 percent of small business citing it as their top concern. Revenue generation was also a growing concern, rising 10 percentage points across survey respondents to 35 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter.
Industry observers told BTN that SMEs tend to execute on planned travel to support their businesses, to get in front of clients and generate revenue. They have fewer edges to trim even when economic uncertainties might put pressure on them to cut costs. As such, the rising cost of travel may simply be the rising cost of business and may not indicate additional trips or voluntary investment.
Read the latest report from BTN Intelligence on how Small & Midsize Travel Programs are meeting cost and other challenges in 2025 and how they are interfacing with suppliers, travel management partners and innovation opportunities...
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