Around half of European travel buyers expect trips to the US to become more expensive with the new Trump administration in power, according to a survey by Business Travel Show Europe.
The poll of 115 corporate travel and procurement professionals found that 48 per cent thought that travel costs to the US would go up and 35 per cent said it would also become “more difficult” to travel to and from the US under the new Republican government.
Meanwhile, 44 per cent of respondents agreed that President Donald Trump’s threatened removal of climate change targets would “dilute the pressure for corporates to expedite sustainable travel programmes”.
Business Travel Show Europe’s marketing director Jonathan Carter-Chapman said: “The Trump administration has only been in power for two months and policies that may affect corporate travel – trade tariffs, flight bans, possible environmental legislation and more – are still in a state of flux so it’s impossible to know for certain what the impact will be on travel and travellers to and from the United States.
“Despite that, many travel managers are proceeding with caution and - given the continued pressure to cut costs - are concerned.”
Carter-Chapman added that the opening session of this year’s Business Travel Show Europe hosted buyer conference, would tackle the impact of geopolitical issues on corporate travel.
The session, entitled ‘How geopolitics will reshape your company’s travel programme’, will examine how these global factors are likely to affect business travel destinations, the frequency and cost of business trips, as well as the risks that travellers face.
“Delegates will discover what the new global risk map looks like and how to restrategise their travel programmes accordingly,” explained Carter-Chapman.
The survey also revealed a high level of familiarity (83 per cent) among buyers about the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, which opened for applications from European travellers earlier this month, and the EU’s much-delayed ETIAS scheme – now scheduled for introduction in late 2026.
Business Travel Show Europe will take place at the ExCeL exhibition centre in London on 25-26 June, alongside the TravelTech Show and The Meetings Show. Registration is now open