SAP Concur Survey: 78% of Travel Managers Expect 2025 Budget Growth

Key points

• 78% of travel managers expected their company's 2025 travel budget to increase and only 7% expected a decrease; in Canada, 92% expected an increase.
• 69% agreed their company's travel budget does not reflect how important business travel is to its success, higher in Australia and New Zealand (79%), the U.S. (76%) and Canada (75%), and lower in Germany (55%) and Italy (61%).
• 67% agreed company leaders undervalue their role, and nearly 100% of surveyed CFOs said travel managers at their company could improve in some way.
• 43% of travel managers said they have the most influence on travel program changes, 41% named the CFO, and only 16% named business travelers as the top influencer.
• When budgets are cut, 59% said cuts typically appear as small changes to all trips, such as requiring lowest fares or cutting checked bags or upgrades; 41% said they appear as larger policy-level changes.
• 99% said their company has updated, is updating, or is considering updating travel policies or training to help employees protect personal and professional information from cyber threats abroad, including 83% already updated or in progress.
• 99% would be comfortable with travelers using AI to support booking, rebooking, or completing an expense report; 75% want AI-enabled components in booking tools; 24% said their role requires a human touch AI cannot replicate; 1% do not want AI used in their role at all.
• 10% of travel managers know employees at their company are using AI to attempt to falsify travel expenses or receipts, and 78% said it is at least somewhat likely; 17% in Australia and New Zealand were certain versus 3% in the UK.