How has the economic downturn changed business travel?

Recession taught the value of business travel

More than 6,500 business travel professionals were in Boston two weeks ago for the annual Global Business Travel Association convention, from buyers who manage travel for major corporations to travel technology firms to representatives from airlines, hotels, and car rental companies. Katie Johnston of the Globe staff spoke to Michael McCormick, executive director of the association, about the mistakes companies made during the recession and why so many business travelers are flying coach.

How has the economic downturn changed business travel?

Probably by the end of this year, we will hit what I would call the reset button, where we’ve basically grown business travel [spending] back to the levels prerecession. It’s taken three-plus years to do so. The thing that’s become very clear to us is that business travel is a leading indicator for business growth. The slumping jobs figures have not been a surprise because we’ve seen a slower growth in business travel than expected this year.

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