Companies Sour on Travel Spending Amid Tariff Worries

Travel spending by businesses hasn’t halted, but it has gotten more careful.

That’s according to a report Tuesday (July 22) by CNBC, citing data from travel and expense platform Navan and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

The data from Navan showed corporate travel spending activity rising 15% year over year in the second quarter of 2025. Amy Butte, Navan’s CFO, said her fellow finance chiefs have gone into “wait and see” mode.

“If you’re making choices about where you’re being cautious, we’re not seeing people be cautious in the area of relationship building, either with their customers or with their teammates. We’re still seeing the spend allocated towards travel as a key component of any business strategy,” Butte said.

The GBTA figures, meanwhile, say that global business travel is expected to reach a new high of $1.57 trillion this year. However, that figure represents annual growth of 6.6%, lower than the 10.4% increase in an earlier forecast. The association pointed to trade tensions, policy uncertainty and economic pressures as the causes for this muted growth.

Also muted: optimism among corporations about travel for the rest of the year, with the number of respondents who said they felt good about travel for the remainder of 2025 falling to 28%, down from 67% in November 2024.

The “wait and see” attitude Butte mentioned also extends to consumers when it comes to tariffs, though it hasn’t hurt retail spending, as PYMNTS reported last week. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed June’s retail sales increasing 0.6% from May and climbing 3.9% versus the same month a year ago.

“Don’t count the American consumer out yet. There’s still a lot of trepidation about tariffs and likely price hikes, but consumers are willing to buy if they feel they can get a good deal. The word of the summer for the economy is resilient,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. She stressed that low layoffs and continued job security are keeping spending aloft, even if buyers are still bargain-conscious.

“While tariffs have grabbed the headlines — and have caused a great deal of uncertainty — they have not hit the retail sector with full force,” said GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders.

“Most of this is because the deadlines for tariffs to be imposed have been constantly moved, and most stock being sold in the half was not subject to additional levies,” he said. “The question … is whether the reasonable first half performance continues into the second half.”

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