China Is Poised for More Growth

China will be at the forefront of an impending business travel recovery, according to an American Express report, and investment in China will increase during the next year.

“Economic conditions over the past year have undoubtedly impacted the travel and entertainment industry on a global scale,” said Charles Petruccelli, president of American Express Global Travel Services. “However, increase in demand will help to drive business and encourage investments, particularly in China.”

Those were some of the conclusions of American Express Business Travel's fifth annual China Business Travel Forum. As part of the forum, the results of two surveys evaluating the economic and business travel outlook of both global and China-based clients were released.

The company surveyed its largest global clients, part of its Global Business Partnership, as well as 180 client organizations based in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, China.

Sixty-eight percent of the survey respondents said they anticipated China's economic prospects would be better than those of the United States, followed by India.

Eighty-nine percent of the companies surveyed said they expected their companies to invest in China during the next 12 months, while 79 percent said they would invest in India during the next year.

In addition, the survey found that respondents expected China to be the first country to emerge from the current economic cycle, with 72 firms expected to invest in China during the next 12 months.

“As we look ahead to the next year, we believe travel spend will play a crucial role in fueling recovery not only in China, but on a broader scale,” Petruccelli said.

He added, “Businesses that will be best placed to take advantage of business opportunities in China, the U.S. or anywhere will strike the right balance between supporting necessary business-generating travel with applying smarter controls that don't deplete the bottom line.”