Business travel trends and forecasts in 2026 for Australia
Business travel or travel in general was probably the most affected industry due to the pandemic.
It has been two years since and the economies of the world seem to be slowly recovering and inching their way to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity.
Australia has always been a major travel destination be it for leisure or business. The market size for corporate travel in the year 2022 was approximately $3.0bn and saw a 9% growth from the previous year.
The business travel trends in 2022 within Australia are showing a positive incline and it is forecasted to continue the trend in the coming years.
Business travel trends noted in 2022
In the past 5 years from 2017 to 2022, Australia has seen a negative trend with an average of 1.1% decline in the corporate travel industry. The major cause of this is of course the pandemic in 2020 but also high competition from private firms.
Thankfully, the year 2022 as compared to the previous year has shown a positive trend with a 9% growth in corporate travel services.
What are the trends that are going to drive business travel in 2026?
Businesses have not fully recovered from the brunt of the pandemic.
This will keep all companies on their toes making sure to spend their resources efficiently using smarter solutions while also ensuring there is growth in the attitude and perspective towards the practice and importance of business travel.
What is the business travel market forecast for 2026?
Business travel trends in 2026 and the years to come are definitely going to evolve and adopt the needs and preferences of business travelers.
As per experts of the industry who have seen and been a part of the Australian business travel industry for a long time, it is predicted that according to the current path, FY2026 will see Flight Centre Travel Group Limited’s corporate business arm likely surpass $8.9 billion in revenue and surpass 2019’s growth by 20%.
How is Volopay helping B2B companies with business travel?
Volopay is an all-in-one expense management ecosystem that helps businesses make the most out of their capital.
We do this by allowing you to use our software platform which is a centralized system to track, manage, & control all kinds of business expenses.
Apart from the software solution, our ecosystem also includes access to financial tools such as corporate cards and a mobile app.
Corporate cards
Volopay provides physical and virtual corporate cards to its users. The physical corporate cards are great for online and offline in-person transactions during business travel.
Virtual cards on the other hand can only be used for online transactions but they are a much more secure option to do so.
You can issue an unlimited number of virtual cards using our platform and 1 physical card for each employee. Every card can be given a custom spending limit that renews periodically.
All the transactions happening through the cards are automatically recorded in a Volopay ledger on the platform in real-time.
These cards help an employee easily manage their travel expenses while also giving the company control over their budget through spending limits to avoid any kind of overspending.
Mobile app
The Volopay mobile app helps an employee instantly submit receipts for reimbursements or expense verification without having to collect receipts for the entire month.
Employees can also request additional funds through the app in case they have urgent requirements.
Corporate travel booking with Volopay and TruTrip
TruTrip is a complete business travel management platform that helps companies book and manage their travel requirements through their software platform.
Volopay has an integration with TruTrip that allows organizations to book their travel accommodations using TruTrip and pay seamlessly through their funds in Volopay.
There are many advantages of using TruTrip through Volopay’s integration as opposed to directly using the platform:
• You get the free plan for TruTrip through Volopay. You also save a lot of money when making international travel bookings using our multicurrency wallets.
• TruTrip’s ‘Essential Plan’ limits its users to add up to 8 team members. When you create an account and use TruTrip through Volopay, you will be able to add more users to the Essential Plan.
• All your business travel expenses remain on a single dashboard within Volopay giving you complete visibility.
While business travel trends will keep changing, companies definitely need to adopt modern ways to spend smartly and make the most out of their capital resources. In order to do this, they must opt for smart solutions like Volopay and TruTrip.
FAQs
Mileage reimbursement using Volopay refers to when an employee is reimbursed according to the distance they traveled for business purposes. A fixed rate per mile is set on the platform and the employee must submit proof of distance traveled to claim the reimbursement.
Volopay with its TruTrip integration is a one-stop solution for business travel as you get the efficient spending capabilities of Volopay combined with the best deals on TruTrip.
Yes, when you create an account on TruTrip with Volopay, you get access to the TruTrip platform with all the features in their ‘Essential Plan.’ Your business can choose to customize and opt for a higher tier plan anytime they feel the need to access more features on the TruTrip booking portal.
An employee can use the Volopay mobile app to submit reimbursement claims instantly. Employees get to add crucial information such as receipt pictures and any other information needed by the company to verify the expense and process the claim. The reimbursement amount can be claimed exactly as per the amount paid or distance traveled in case of travel expenses.