Travel cuts, safety worries: Why business trips to the US are being grounded

Rising safety concerns, shifting trade priorities and tighter budgets are pushing global companies to cancel or scale down business trips to the United States. A new survey by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) shows that more organizations are cancelling US-based meetings, moving events abroad, or switching to virtual formats—largely in response to recent US government policy changes.

According to GBTA’s July 2025 poll, 20% of global travel buyers say their companies have cancelled plans to send employees to US events, double the figure from April. At the same time, 18% have cancelled US-based meetings, while 17% have dropped events planned in the country. More organizations are also moving meetings out of the US or hosting them online.

“This latest poll shows the business travel industry and corporate travel programs and professionals actively adapting to shifting geopolitics and evolving US policies. While overall demand currently remains resilient, the results underscore how economic uncertainty and US government actions continue to send ripple effects across the global travel landscape,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA.

The findings show how changes in US government policy—such as trade restrictions, immigration rules, and geopolitical tensions—are driving a clear shift in business travel trends. As a result, many firms are looking beyond the US for meetings, suppliers, and business opportunities.

Almost half (48%) of global travel suppliers now expect a decline in revenue from business travel, up from 37% in April. Lodging providers are especially impacted, with 58% anticipating losses. The average projected revenue drop remains near 17%.

International travel sees sharper decline
Among companies that expect lower travel activity, international trips are the first to go. About 49% of respondents say international business travel will fall, compared to 23% for domestic travel. On average, the expected drop in travel volume is 19% for international trips and 21% for domestic or regional ones.

While corporate travel spending plans have not changed sharply since April, 31% of buyers expect their company’s travel expenses to fall this year. The average budget cut is 17%.

Industry optimism continues to fall. Overall, just 28% of respondents are optimistic about the business travel industry’s outlook for the rest of 2025. In November 2024, this figure stood at 67%. In Asia-Pacific, optimism declined from 40% in April to 27% in July.

Safety, border worries grow
The top long-term concerns remain higher travel costs (55%) and more paperwork (47%). But concerns around employee safety, duty of care (46%) and border detentions (31%) have also grown—both up 9 percentage points from April.

There are also growing signs of reluctance among employees. Eighteen percent of travel buyers say staff members have refused trips to the US due to concerns related to US policies. Additionally, 35% of respondents now say they personally know someone whose travel was affected by a policy change—up from 23% three months earlier.

As companies reduce travel to the US, they are also exploring new markets. About 35% of non-US based respondents say they are traveling—or planning to travel—for business meetings with new trade partners or vendors outside the US. Europe (70%) and Asia-Pacific (53%) are the top regions for these new engagements.