2015 European Business Travel and Expense Analysis - Ten Key Insights

Sep 13, 2026

Uploaded by William

A white paper reviewing highlights from an independent study co-sponsored by Amadeus, based on March–April 2015 input from 590 corporate respondents managing Travel & Expense (T&E) budgets. After years of decline, European business travel spend is rising again, driven mainly by acquiring and developing clients. The study shows spend is still framed as a cost rather than an investment, with plans to increase international activity and a growing focus on duty of care, security, and cost control through online booking and expense management systems.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Ten key insights

Travel and expense spend trends in Europe

Trip motives and budget allocation

Cost vs investment perspective

Growth plans and destination focus

Duty of care and traveller security

Technology adoption: OBT and EMS

2015 European business travel and expense analysis Ten key insights into business travel and expense trends and corporate practices Foreword This white paper reviews the highlights of an independent study conducted by Concomitance and co-sponsored by Amadeus in March and April of 2015. After several years of decline, business travel spend in Europe is once again on the rise. Yet, as 590 respondents responsible for managing the Travel & Expense (T&E) budgets of their Corporations told us, they are under pressure more than ever to demonstrate a Return on Investment of travel spend whilst ensuring the security and comfort of their travellers. At Amadeus we are committed to helping Corporations identify opportunities for savings using the best technology, enabling those responsible for T&E management to meet these objectives. The data obtained through this research helps Corporations understand how they compare with their peers in terms of how mature their current processes and technology are. We can see that more and more Corporations are equipping themselves both with Online Booking tools (OBT) and Expense Management systems (EMS) that allow them to optimise their processes end to end. So whether, as this report identifies, your Corporation is atthe high end of sophistication when it comes to managing T&E budgets or whether you are at the start of enhancing your organisation’s travel processes, let´s discuss how Amadeus can help you shape the future of your Travel and Expense management programme. Florian Tinnus Head of Corporate Solutions Amadeus IT Group Ten key insights: 2015 European business travel and expense analysis After several years of decline, business travel spend in Europe is once again on the rise. The main reason that European Corporations spend on travel is to acquire and develop clients (and less for other reasons). Paradoxically, business travel spend is still considered a cost as opposed to an investment. Organisations plan to increase their activity abroad in the coming three years, with Europe as their main destination (over outside-Europe travel). Controlling direct costs is still the main priority for those managing the T&E budgets, but ensuring traveller security is gaining significance. Travel managers rely on an OBT to reduce their direct costs (59% of OBT users have saved more than 10% on their travel budget through its implementation) and are increasing both equipment and adoption. Corporations believe direct cost-saving optimisation has reached a plateau and that they now need to focus on optimising their indirect costs (process saving, workflow validation for pre-trip/ post-trip and expense reimbursement). 4 2 3 1 5 9 8 10 Consequently, procedures and automated processes to monitor and control expenses are on the increase. End to end systems are on the rise, and Corporations are equipping themselves with both OBTsand EMS, either integrated or as separate solutions. Four different clusters were identified to describe an organisation’s maturity and compared with previous studies, Corporations are making an effort to gain control of their Travel and Expense budgets, although results across industry verticals and markets vary. After several years of decline, business travel spend in Europe is once again on the rise Organisations have increased their travel budget by 0.8% in the last 18 months, reversing the declining trend observed for the past two years, and inline with overall corporate investment in the Eurozone. The main reason that European Corporations spend on travel is to acquire and develop clients (and less for other reasons) 56% of an average travel budget is now dedicated to commercial development +10 pts compared with 2013 and at the expense of meetings, events or intra- 0rganisation trips. Trip motives (weight in the budgets) 2013 2015 46% 56% Maintain / develop existing clients

FAQs

What changed in European business travel spending after a period of decline?

Business travel spend in Europe is once again on the rise, reversing the declining trend observed over the past two years.

Why do European corporations primarily spend on business travel?

The main reason is to acquire and develop clients, with relatively less budget allocated to other purposes.

What is increasing in importance for corporate travel managers regarding traveller security?

Duty of care and traveller security are gaining significance, with most organisations seeking tools to locate employees and enable repatriation in emergencies.

Sep 13, 2026

Uploaded by William