Germany keeps first position as top business travel destination within Europe

BCD Travel data reveals the most frequented destinations by European business travelers with insights into how they travel

UTRECHT, The Netherlands, March 27, 2025 – According to BCD Travel’s Cities & Trends 2025 Europe Report, Germany remains the most visited country in the region by BCD clients’ European business travelers. The intercontinental list is led by the United States. The report is based on BCD flight and car rental data from 2024 in a range of European markets.¹

Top 10 business travel cities

The European rankings have mostly remained the same as the previous year, except for Stockholm jumping one spot, moving Europe’s de facto capital Brussels to 10^th place. Western Europe’s business travel growth in 2024 was primarily driven by real estate activities, followed by the arts, entertainment and recreation sector.

With eight cities in the top 10, the intercontinental list is clearly led by the U.S. Dubai remains solid in third place.

2024 ranking	European cities	Intercontinental cities
1	Amsterdam	New York City
2	London	Chicago
3	Frankfurt	Dubai
4	Munich	Washington, D.C.
5	Paris	San Francisco
6	Copenhagen	Boston
7	Zurich	Atlanta
8	Vienna	Seattle-Tacoma
9	Stockholm	Shanghai
10	Brussels	Los Angeles

“Although the geopolitical landscape will remain subject to rapid change and complexity, posing concerns for travelers and their companies, the global economy has delivered upside surprises in 2024,” said Michèle Lawley, regional president of Europe at BCD. “Global business travel growth over the past year surpassed expectations, paving the way for continued momentum in 2025.”

Top 10 business travel countries

As a mature business travel market, it’s unsurprising to see little change in the European country rankings, with Germany keeping its first position as the most visited European country.

Italy is showing the strongest increase in inbound business travel within Europe. Its economic recovery, especially in the second half of the year, has bolstered business confidence and activity within the country. In addition, airlines have expanded their operations in Italy, increasing the number of flights and destinations served.

The international ranking has also remained largely the same with the U.S. firmly in first place. Only Qatar and Singapore swapped places. China has shown a strong rebound in travel, driven by key factors like eased travel restrictions, pent-up travel demand, economic upturn and policy initiatives to encourage travel.

2024 ranking	European countries	Intercontinental countries
1	Germany	United States
2	United Kingdom	United Arab Emirates
3	Netherlands	India
4	France	China
5	Italy	Canada
6	Spain	Qatar
7	Switzerland	Singapore
8	Denmark	Japan
9	Sweden	Brazil
10	Austria	Morocco

Top 10 business travel routes

London is the most popular arrival and departure hub for European flights, accounting for eight city pairs in the top 10 European routes². For intercontinental routes, London to New York City tops the chart. The top 10 arrival hubs are dominated by U.S. cities, with New York City being the most popular.    

2024 ranking	European routes	Intercontinental routes
1	Amsterdam – London	London – New York City
2	London – Amsterdam	Frankfurt – Chicago
3	Frankfurt – London	London – Los Angeles
4	London – Dublin	Frankfurt – New York City
5	London – Frankfurt	London – Chicago
6	Dublin – London	London – Seattle-Tacoma
7	Munich – London	Frankfurt – Shanghai
8	London – Munich	Paris – New York City
9	Stockholm – Copenhagen	Frankfurt – Washington, D.C.
10	Copenhagen – Stockholm	Frankfurt – San Francisco

Cabin class and flight type

For European flights, business travelers mostly booked economy class (92%), with only 7% flying business class. However, the breakdown for intercontinental flights is equal: business class and economy class both make up 44% each. Premium economy and first class are booked the least.

“On intra-European flights, there are several reasons why most travelers book economy outside of just being mandated by the travel policy,” said Olivier Benoit, senior vice president at BCD’s consulting arm Advito. “The comfort difference between business and economy is often perceived as insignificant on short-haul flights and many business travelers benefit already from frequent flyer services like lounge access and priority boarding, even in economy.”

“For travel managers, the return on investment is much higher on economy tickets. They’re often half the price of business fares, and 70% of these flights are less than two hours,” added Benoit. “On such short flights, a traveler’s productivity level won’t differ much between economy and business class.”

Due to relatively shorter distances, high demand for point-to-point travel and smaller aircraft, most European flights are direct (85%). In contrast, only 52% of intercontinental flights from Europe are direct. Intercontinental travel is often structured around major airline hubs. Instead of every city having direct flights to other continents, airlines consolidate passengers at hubs like Amsterdam, Frankfurt or London to fill large aircraft before flying long distances.  

Car rental

For 21% of all air bookings in Europe, travelers booked a rental car with an average of four days. Key reasons for renting a car instead of using other means of transportation are convenience, speed, lack of alternatives and price.

The full Cities & Trends 2025 Europe Report with insights about European business travelers can be found here. The Europe edition is part of a series that also includes rankings from the U.S. and APAC. This series aims to provide valuable insights into business travel trends across different regions, helping companies make informed decisions and optimize their travel strategies.

Notes:
¹ Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K.
² Top routes combine data of multiple airports for the following cities: London (Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City); Paris (Charles de Gaulle and Orly); New York City (John F. Kennedy, Newark and La Guardia); Shanghai (Pudong and Hongqiao).

About the report

Business travel can be a barometer for economic growth. The rise and fall of business travel volumes reflect the level and health of economic activity within a region or country. BCD’s Cities & Trends Europe 2025 Report shows the top destinations for BCD clients’ European business travelers with insights into how they travel. The findings are based on BCD flight and car rental data from 2024 in a range of European markets.