As businesses approach the 2024 financial year, Corporate Traveller, Flight Centre Travel Group’s flagship SME business, has drawn on its innovative booking data to forecast the industries that will dominate business travel in the new year.

While the manufacturing industry will continue to see the biggest growth in bookings – at 51 per cent – the construction industry will remain the leading industry for travel spend, having increased its spend by 98 per cent this year.

Industries forecasted to have the highest percentage growth in travel bookings in FY2024

While industries typically associated with business travel in Australia and abroad are expected to maintain their position throughout FY2024, other sectors have made an unexpected jump in bookings over the past four months, which Corporate Traveller forecasts will continue into the next financial year.

Corporate Traveller expects manufacturing to be the fastest-growing industry for business travel bookings over the next year. The sector saw a 51 per cent increase in bookings during January-April (inclusive) this year compared with January-April 2022. This is a welcome result, as it may indicate that supply chains are recovering across the country and internationally.

The healthcare and social assistance industry will follow closely behind, having seen a 50 per cent increase in bookings during the same period. Mining, oil, and gas will be in the top-five ranking, having driven a 49 per cent increase in bookings between the two January-April periods, followed by professional services (with a 47 per cent growth) and construction (with a 43 per cent growth).

Industries forecasted to spend the most on travel in FY2024

Corporate Traveller analysed travel spend by industry during the same time periods: January-April (inclusive) 2023 and January-April 2022. While travel bookings show the number of travellers taking to the skies, travel spend shows the amount each business is spending on both air and land.

The construction industry will continue to dominate this category in FY2024, by a significant margin. During the two time periods analysed, this industry spent 23 per cent more on travel than the second highest-spending industry, healthcare, and social assistance. Even though healthcare increased its travel spend this year by 106 per cent, construction remained in first place and increased its spend by 98 per cent.

Professional services will be the third highest-spending industry – surprisingly, overtaking the mining, oil and gas industry for travel spend. Both industries increased their travel spend by 95 per cent between the two four-month periods. The large percentage growth in bookings and travel spend could indicate business growth and expansion for businesses within these industries.

Even though manufacturing had the highest percentage growth in travel bookings, it came in at fifth place for travel spend and a 94 per cent increase in spend.

Tom Walley, Corporate Traveller’s Australian-based Global Managing Director, expects this upward trend to continue into the next financial year. “More people in these industries are travelling for work or travelling more often.

“In fact, we expect these rate of bookings to increase more in the 2024 financial year, with governments committing to large infrastructure spends, including projects such as Sydney’s WestConnex and the Victorian and Queensland Inland Rail project continuing their cross-state and intercity developments throughout 2023 and into 2024.

“Our data, analysed across thousands of business customers, tells us we have a positive financial year ahead of us for business travel bookings and spend. While we expect construction and mining to continue the upward trend in bookings throughout the year, we can also look forward to more businesses travelling from growing sectors such as the professional services industries.

“A combination of Australian’s confidence in air travel, international conferences taking place locally and overseas, and generational projects nearing completion will help to keep travel at the top of business agendas at least for the near future.”

Ranking of the top five industries for travel bookings revealed by Corporate Traveller’s booking data: 

Ranking of the top five industries for travel spend revealed by Corporate Traveller data: