CTM Data Reveals Next Gen Business Travel Attitudes

New global data from CTM reveals majority of Millennial and Gen Z business travellers want to travel more, considering business travel very important to career progression and professional performance.

New data from Corporate Travel Management (CTM) gives extensive insight into the global and regional opinions of Millennial and Gen Z business travellers.

The global market research of 702 Millennial and Gen Z employees carried out in March 2025 looks at how much they travel, what they love about it, how they book it, their criteria for choosing suppliers, and much more.

It showed the majority of Millennial and Gen Z business travellers want to travel more for business, are booking their own trips, favour cost, convenience and reliability when choosing suppliers, and also consider sustainability when booking flights and hotels.

CTM’s Global Chief Operating Officer, Eleanor Noonan, commented: “Millennials already make up roughly 75% of the global workforce, closely followed by Gen Zs, and as future business decision makers, it’s critical that we acknowledge and understand their unique views and expectations of business travel. Our research has uncovered critical insights into how younger business travellers view the business travel experience, which is driving an evolution in how we design impactful, relevant travel management services for the future.”

1. Professional fulfilment

57 per cent of respondents said that business travel is ‘very important’ (33 per cent ‘somewhat important’) to their career progression, 51 per cent indicated that it is ‘very important’ to their professional performance (37 per cent ‘somewhat important’) and 45 per cent said that business travel is ‘very important’ to their job satisfaction (41 per cent ‘somewhat important’).

70 per cent of respondents expect the importance of business travel to increase in line with their professional experience and seniority. Asia (Singapore and Hong Kong) share the strongest view (90 per cent)

2. Frequency and enjoyment

86 per cent of respondents flew on business at least once per year, with 70 per cent flying between 1 and 5 times. However, 55 per cent would like to travel more for business. When asked what they enjoy most about travelling for business, the top three reasons were: 1. Experiencing new destinations, 2. collaborating with colleagues and partners and 3. taking a break from routine.

Regional variations
Australian respondents flew the most for business: 84 per cent between 1-5 times per year. But it’s UK travellers who most want to spend more time on the road – 63 per cent.

3. Booking for bleisure

Just under half (42 per cent) of Millennial and Gen Z business travellers always or usually add a leisure extension to their business trip. This drops to 29 per cent in North America and rises to 55 per cent in Asia (Singapore and Hong Kong).

This may be linked to North American workers receiving the least amount of paid annual leave days among the participating regions.

4. Booking behaviour

When booking business travel (self-booking or employer) 42 per cent book with a TMC and 32 per cent book directly with suppliers. 59 per cent of all respondents book their own travel.

These statistics remained fairly consistent throughout the regions. Australia had the lowest number of self-bookers – 53 per cent – and the UK the highest (66 per cent).

5. Travel policy

Globally, 70 per cent of respondents have a corporate travel policy and 83 per cent claim to understand its objectives. Just 54 per cent indicate the policy aligns with their personal travel needs and expectations.

This drops significantly in North America with just 59 per cent of travellers laying claim to a policy, and 76 per cent saying they understand why it exists, and only 41 per cent say it aligns with their expectations.

The highest levels of programming and buy-in can be found in Singapore and Hong Kong, where 84 per cent have a policy and a huge 90 per cent understand its objectives. More than half, 66 per cent say their policy aligns with their personal travel needs and expectations.

6. Supplier relations

Airlines and accommodation

When asked which features are most important when selecting an airline, the top three responses globally are:

1. Price
2. Flight schedules (convenience)
3. On-time performance (reliability)

Hong Kong is the only region that indicated ‘safety record’ as one of its top 3 features. All others featured the global choices outlined above.

The same question was asked of accommodation with the top three answers globally being:

1. Location
2. 24/7 reception
3. On-site fitness/wellness facilities 

Sustainability

Despite sustainability not entering the top three criteria lists for any region when choosing airlines or accommodation, over half of respondents said sustainability is a consideration when booking flights (55 per cent) and hotels (51 per cent). Fewer than half (46 per cent) seek environmentally sustainable car rental services.

57 per cent say they expect their employer to pay a premium for sustainable business travel services.

• Regional variants

Singapore and Hong Kong showed the strongest demand for environmentally sustainable services – 75 per cent for airlines, 69 per cent for hotels and 59 per cent for car rental services.

These regions also had the highest expectations for employers to pay more for sustainable business travel (76 per cent).

North America showed less interest in seeking sustainable services (33 per cent for airlines, 51 per cent for hotels, 46 per cent for car rental) yet still expressed an expectation for employers to pay more for sustainable business travel services (57 per cent).

Loyalty programmes

Loyalty programmes also failed to make the top three considerations for choosing a supplier, yet 43 per cent of respondents globally always select travel suppliers based on their loyalty programmes, and 38 per cent sometimes do this.

The most important features of a loyalty programme were considered both globally and by all regions to be:

1. Discounts & special offers
2. Free flights/hotels and upgrades,
3. Priority (fast-track security/boarding/baggage).