Business travelers doing more with less

Although many signs point to a strengthening U.S. economy, the overwhelming sentiment in the business travel world remains doing more with less.

That attitude came across in a recent study that found many business travelers are staying a few extra nights to handle more business instead of making multiple trips.

Partly as a result, the estimated total number of trips in the U.S. has dropped 22% over the last decade, but overall spending on business travel has increased 3.3%, according to a study released last week by the global Business Travel Assn., a Virginia-based trade group.

In 2000, the association estimates that Americans spent $243 billion on more than 576 million business trips. Last year, spending on business trips rose to $251 billion but the number of trips dropped to 445 million, according to the group.

The average amount spent on a business trip in 2000 was $422, compared with $564 in 2011, the trade group said. Nearly two-thirds of that increase is the result of inflation, the association said, but about a third came from higher spending.

“This trend makes sense,” said Michael McCormick, the association’s executive director. “We’re seeing road warriors taking fewer trips but making the most of them, making more stops and spending more on the road.”

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