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Travel Forum

Insights & reports

Measuring what business travel returns, not just what it costs.

A monthly white paper, original research and leadership interviews for the people who buy, finance and deliver business travel, with sustainability in every edition.

Flagship research

The Forum's research

Industry forecasts measure spending. WBTF research measures value: the revenue, relationships, talent and growth that travel makes possible.

MonthlyThe WBTF White Paper

The WBTF White Paper

Every month, one question that matters to corporate buyers and their boards, answered with evidence. Each paper is fully sourced and keeps the Forum’s analysis separate from third-party data. From 2027, papers will also start from questions raised in the Global Councils, draw on a short pulse survey of the WBTF Buyer Community, and carry a sustainability chapter.

  • Themes across the year: air and hotel pricing, payments, AI in travel management, duty of care, rail and ground mobility, visas and borders
  • Every contributing buyer receives a benchmark of their own programme against peers
  • Each paper can be developed with one research partner; editorial control stays with the Forum
No. 1 out now · November 2026
WBTF ReportThe Value of Travel 2027

The Value of Travel Report

An annual survey of corporate buyers and the chief executives, finance and HR leaders they report to, on the business outcomes linked to face-to-face meetings. It answers the question every board asks: what do we get back, and at what environmental cost?

  • Revenue, deal and retention outcomes from in-person meetings
  • The value of a trip set against its carbon footprint
  • Where companies plan to travel more, and less
  • Benchmarks by industry and region
Launch: Annual Meeting, November 2027
WBTF IndexGlobal Mobility Barriers Index

Global Mobility Barriers Index

A country-by-country ranking of how easy it is to travel for business: visa friction, air connectivity, digital and biometric readiness, safety and sustainability.

  • A clear scorecard for governments and destinations
  • Practical guidance for travel and mobility managers
  • Developed with the Council on Borderless Business
In development for 2027
MonthlyData of the Month

Data of the Month

The single chart every travel leader should see this month, drawn from airlines, analysts and research institutes, with the Forum's analysis.

  • Recent editions: business aviation flight hours, car rental rate forecasts
Read the latest

White Paper library

Download the series.

Every WBTF White Paper is free to download. Journalists may quote the papers with attribution to the World Business Travel Forum.

No. 1 · November 2026 · 28 pages

A New Horizon

How eight months of conflict in the Gulf reshaped business travel: flight disruption and jet fuel, how buyers adapted, the market response and three planning scenarios for 2027, with a ten-point action agenda.

No. 2The recovery cycle

No. 2 · December 2026

The recovery cycle

Rebuilding Gulf connectivity and corporate travel programmes for 2027.

Coming December 2026
No. 3AI and corporate mobility

No. 3 · January 2027

AI and the future of corporate mobility

Published ahead of WBTF Dubai 2027 on 3 February 2027.

Coming January 2027

Looking for earlier articles? Browse the Newsletter Archive, sorted by year and month.

The research cycle

Twelve papers, four round-ups, one annual record.

The Forum’s research builds through the year. Every paper is fully referenced, and the Forum’s own analysis is kept separate from third-party data.

Monthly white paper

Each month, WBTF publishes a paper on one force reshaping corporate mobility. Each paper sets out the data, the main expert assessments and the practical implications for buyers.

Quarterly round-up

Every three months, the monthly papers are consolidated into a quarterly round-up. It updates the figures, tracks which trends held and which did not, and adds input from the WBTF Buyer Community and Global Councils.

Full-year paper at the Annual Meeting

Each November, at the WBTF Annual Meeting, the Forum releases a full-year paper. It is a fact-based summary of the year in business travel, drawn from twelve monthly papers and four quarterly round-ups. It is a record of what happened, supported by sources, and not an opinion piece.

WBTF Data of the Month

The single chart every travel leader should see this month.

Latest from the Forum

News and analysis

Selected recent stories from the WBTF editorial desk.

Daily Update

WBTF Daily Update No. 7: WBTF launches its White Paper Series

WBTF publishes White Paper No. 1, A New Horizon, plus US inflation and the Federal Reserve, Riyadh travel workarounds, India's festive-season flight cuts and the Accor–Hard Rock partnership.

Daily Update

WBTF Daily Update No. 6: Goods move faster, trade keeps travelling

The UAE adopts digital ATA Carnets, China extends its tariff truce, the IMF on Ghana, Amadeus bookings recover and Spain's general strike hits air and rail.

Daily Update

WBTF Daily Update No. 5: Oil eases, rates stay high

Oil slips below US$100, the Bank of England raises rates, China's producer prices climb, the GCC signs its railway agreement and WTTC launches new indices, plus Data in focus on AI agents.

Daily Update

WBTF Daily Update No. 4: Corporates keep flying, fuel sets the price

IAG and Air France-KLM report resilient corporate and premium demand, fuel costs drive capacity cuts, Dubai's events calendar peaks and TMCs add AI assistants.

Daily Update

WBTF Daily Update No. 3: Dubai still leads, teams are stretched

Dubai stays the world's busiest international hub, travel teams are understaffed, Singapore Airlines invests US$1.6bn in cabins, Advito tests AI and the US visitor-spend outlook weakens.

Daily Update

WBTF Daily Update No. 2: Demand holds firm, risk takes new shapes

Emirates' half-year results, hoax bomb threats on European flights, the Amadeus incident, Qantas fuel costs and Navan's 2027 outlook.

View all news and analysis →

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