Corporate Travel Spending Rises Sharply as In-Person Meetings Regain Priority

Navan’s latest Business Travel Benchmark for Q4 2025 reports a 13.8% increase in business travel activity year-over-year, significantly outpacing the 1.2% growth in overall TSA passenger data, with notable spending increases across multiple industries and a focus on higher-value in-person engagements.

Business Travel Activity Outpaces General Air Travel

Navan’s Business Travel Benchmark (BTB) for the fourth quarter of 2025 indicates a substantial rise in business travel compared to the broader air travel sector. The report, based on millions of transactions from over 10,000 companies using the Navan platform, shows a 13.8% year-over-year increase in business travel activity for Q4 2025. In contrast, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data for the same period reflects only a 1.2% rise in total air passenger volume.

For the full year 2025, the BTB recorded a 16.1% year-over-year increase in business travel, while TSA data showed almost no growth, at 0.1%. The BTB reached its highest level in October 2025, which coincided with the peak of the fall conference season, despite disruptions such as the U.S. government shutdown. As is typical in the industry, business travel slowed in the fourth quarter, with a 7.3% quarter-over-quarter decrease from Q3 2025, as travel activity generally declines during the holiday season.

Industry-Specific Growth Trends

The report highlights that certain industries contributed significantly to the overall growth in business travel. The Government & Public Sector, which includes federal, state, and local agencies as well as public universities and key contractors, led all sectors with a 36.1% year-over-year increase in air and hotel spending. The Hospitality & Travel sector also saw strong growth, with a 33.3% rise, while the Energy & Utilities sector experienced a 21.2% increase.

Ground transportation spending also grew notably. Public transport, tolls, and parking expenditures were up 21.6% year-over-year, and spending on taxis and rideshare services increased by 19.1%. These categories outpaced all others in spending growth, indicating a heightened need for ground mobility as business travel expanded.

Spending Patterns and Strategic Investment

The BTB data show that spending growth outpaced travel volume growth. Domestic business travel volume grew 7.9% year-over-year, but spending rose by 17.8%. This suggests that organizations are not only traveling more but are also allocating more resources per trip. The report attributes this to a focus on maximizing the return on investment from in-person interactions.

Spending on categories related to relationship-building, such as team events and meals, increased from 2.7% quarter-over-quarter in Q3 to 4.6% in Q4. Similarly, spending on entertaining clients shifted from a 0.8% decline in Q3 to a 2.7% increase in Q4. These trends indicate that companies are prioritizing the quality and impact of business travel over simply increasing the number of trips.

Data Validation and Methodology

The Navan Business Travel Benchmark uses a methodology similar to the Conference Board’s composite index approach. The data is derived from millions of corporate transactions processed through Navan’s travel and expense management platform. The methodology and data analysis have been reviewed and validated by the Nasdaq economics team, which recognizes business travel as an essential indicator of corporate growth and economic activity.

The BTB is compared against a TSA index constructed using the same methodology, based on publicly available TSA passenger volume data. The quarterly year-over-year comparisons cover Q4 2025 (October 1–December 31) versus Q4 2024.

Conclusion

Navan’s Q4 2025 Business Travel Benchmark indicates that business travel is growing at a much faster rate than general air travel, with significant increases in spending across several industries and a focus on high-value, in-person engagements. The data suggest that companies are making strategic decisions to invest in business travel to foster connections and drive organizational growth.