Travel Business Statistics 2026

Global travel and tourism generated $10.9 trillion in GDP in 2024, accounting for roughly one in every ten dollars produced worldwide. International arrivals hit 1.4 billion, business travel spending reached a new nominal record of $1.47 trillion, and the airline industry carried 5 billion passengers for the first time. Here are the most current travel business statistics heading into 2026, broken down by sector.

Travel Business Statistics: Key Numbers

• Travel and tourism contributed $10.9 trillion to global GDP in 2024, or about 10% of the world total.
• The sector supported 357 million jobs worldwide as of 2024.
• Global business travel spending reached $1.47 trillion in 2024, an 11.1% year-over-year increase.
• International tourist arrivals totaled 1.4 billion in 2024, recovering to 99% of 2019 levels.
• Airlines carried 5 billion passengers in 2024, with net profit of $31.5 billion industry-wide.

Travel Business GDP and Employment

The travel sector’s GDP contribution passed its pre-pandemic peak in 2024. The WTTC projects $16.5 trillion in annual output and over 460 million jobs by 2035, with most new positions concentrated in Asia-Pacific.

The U.S. led all countries with a $2.6 trillion contribution, followed by China. International visitor spending grew nearly 12% year-over-year to $1.87 trillion, while domestic spending rose 5.4% to $5.3 trillion.

Global Business Travel Spending Statistics

Business travel spending hit $1.47 trillion in 2024, a new nominal record. GBTA projects $1.69 trillion by 2026. On an inflation-adjusted basis, though, 2024 spending still sat about 14% below 2019 levels, which means actual trip volume hasn’t caught up despite the record dollar figures.

The U.S. and China together account for about 58% of total global business travel spend, at $395.4 billion and $373.1 billion respectively. The average business trip cost $834 in 2024: $312 for lodging, $176 for airfare, $153 for food, $103 for ground transport, and $89 for other expenses.

Online Travel Agency Revenue Statistics

Booking Holdings dominated the OTA space in 2024 with $23.7 billion in revenue and $165.6 billion in gross bookings. Expedia followed at $13.69 billion, while Airbnb reported $11.1 billion. Combined, these three spent $17.8 billion on sales and marketing in a single year.

Booking processed 1.1 billion room nights (up 9%), and mobile bookings accounted for 60% of all transactions. Expedia’s B2B segment grew 24% in Q4 2024. Airbnb’s growth rate has cooled as Booking and Expedia compete more aggressively in short-term rentals.

Short-Term Rental Travel Business Market Share

The three largest platforms controlled 71% of the global short-term rental market in 2024, up from 53% in 2019. Airbnb nearly doubled its share from 28% to 44%. Booking.com moved from 14% to 18%. Vrbo actually lost ground, falling from 11% to 9%.

Independent property managers and smaller agencies saw the steepest drop, going from 47% to 29% of the market in five years.

International Tourism Arrivals Statistics

A total of 1.4 billion tourists crossed borders in 2024, reaching 99% of the 2019 benchmark. The Middle East was the top-performing region relative to pre-pandemic levels, with arrivals 32% above 2019. Africa also exceeded 2019 figures by 7%.

Total tourism export revenues, including passenger transport, reached a record $1.9 trillion. UN Tourism estimates 1.52 billion international arrivals for full-year 2025, an increase of roughly 60 million over 2024.

Airline Industry Travel Business Statistics

The global airline industry carried 5 billion passengers in 2024 and is expected to reach 5.2 billion in 2025. Total industry revenue is projected to cross $1 trillion for the first time.

The U.S. remained the largest single market at 876 million passengers. China ranked second with 741 million, growing 18.7% as it continued recovering from its delayed reopening. The busiest air route globally was Jeju–Seoul with 13.2 million passengers. Despite record volumes, airline profitability remains slim at a projected 3.6% net margin in 2025, or about $7 per passenger.

Online Travel Market Size and AI Adoption

The broader online travel market reached $685 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $769 billion in 2025. SkyQuest Technology forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 12.3% through 2033, when the market could reach $1.95 trillion.

One notable shift: 58% of active travelers now use AI tools for trip planning, up threefold since 2023. Generative AI is influencing an estimated $350 billion in booking value through personalized suggestions. Zero-click searches in travel rose from 22.8% in mid-2024 to 26.7% by late 2025, putting pressure on brands to make content machine-readable rather than relying only on traditional SEO.

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