Business trips and travel expenses in Europe
While Germany recorded the highest total amount of business tourism spending, it was not the most popular destination for business travelers in Europe. According to a July 2021 survey, Switzerland was the leading destination for future business trips among European travelers, with over 10 percent of travelers planning to visit the country for work-related purposes. Switzerland was also home to some of the most expensive cities for European business travel as of 2020, such as Zurich, Geneva, and Basel.Travel spending from business meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and trade shows contributes significantly to travel and tourism in European countries. Turkey had the most trade and public exhibitions in Europe in 2019, with nearly 500 events that year. These types of business events are part of the larger European meetings industry, which serves as an important link in B2B operations. The market size of the European meetings industry reached over 500 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, larger than the North America and Asia Pacific markets.