Brazilian business travel spending will grow 9.3% in 2012 to US$30.1 billion and another 12.6% in 2013, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
GBTA released its second BTI Outlook report on Brazil as part of a semiannual series. Other highlights from the report include:
- Brazil is on track to overtake South Korea for eighth place in business travel spend world ranking this year.
- Organic growth is forecast to drive a 6% increase in hotel capacity. While future hotel construction will be incentivized further by the forthcoming World Cup and Olympics, demand will still exceed supply.
- Brazilian business travel spending is heavily geared to domestic spend (80%), but in 2012 growth rates in international outbound travel are twice that of domestic travel.
- Overall Brazilian business travel spending should expand even more rapidly as the global economy recovers.
“Brazil’s strong economic growth has made it one of the world’s key markets to watch for business travel,” said Wellington Costa, president of GBTA Brazil. “Despite the challenging global economic climate, Brazil remains on a robust business travel growth track, especially when compared to the U.S. and Europe. The key question is whether Brazil can tackle its travel infrastructure constraints to meet its expanding business travel demand.”