FCM Travel India and GBTA spotlight India’s rising business travel market, forecasting significant spending increases and technological advancements in corporate travel.
Global Corporate Travel Management Company, FCM Travel India, hosted their first FCM Corporate Travel Summit in Mumbai powered by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) with Hyatt India Hotels, Amadeus, and Singapore Airlines as sponsors. The summit was attended by more than 150 professionals from the travel industry, including key decision-makers.
The event curated thought-provoking sessions for India’s business travel community which covered the latest business travel trends, technology, meetings and events and sustainability.
“India is the 9th largest travel market in the world for business travel spending. It is the 4th largest market for the Asia Pacific region, representing 5.7% of business travel spending in the region. In 2023, India’s business travel spending grew 24.7% and we anticipate an 18.3% increase in spending in 2024,” said Sunny Sodhi, Managing Director of FCM Travel India.
“It is going to be an exceptional year for the meetings and events industry. Technology-enabled events are here to stay, and we use artificial intelligence and virtual reality to enhance and elevate guest experiences. We have also seen a strong demand for wellness, well-being, and even luxurious experiences. We recently organized walking tours in Maasai Mara and dinner along the Mara River,” added Manpreet Bindra, FCM Meetings & Events Leader, Asia.
“Asia has continued to outperform, with a significant 44% increase in revenue as announced in our Mid-Year Results FY2024. This is fuelled by strong performance across Southeast Asia, India, and the re-opening of China, hence we are witnessing growth opportunities in India and Southeast Asia in FY2025,” said Bertrand Saillet, Managing Director of FCM Travel Asia.
“India will fully reach pre-2019 spending levels by 2025 and is expected to reach 120% of its pre-COVID business travel spend in 2027,” concluded Catherine Logan, Regional Vice President of EMEA & APAC, GBTA.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
