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 United States tops the intercontinental list. The report is based upon BCD flight and rental car data for 2024 across a range European markets.
Top 10 business travel destinations
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 10th place. Western Europe’s business travel growth in 2024 was primarily driven by real estate activities, followed by the arts, entertainment and recreation sector.
Dubai, which is firmly in third place, remains in the top 10 intercontinental cities.
| 2024 Ranking | European cities | Intercontinental cities |
| 1 | Амстердам | Нью-Йорк |
| 2 | Лондон | Чикаго |
| 3 | Франкфурт | Дубай |
| 4 | Мюнхен | Washington, D.C. |
| 5 | Париж | Сан-Франциско |
| 6 | Копенгаген | Бостон |
| 7 | Zurich | Атланта |
| 8 | Vienna | Seattle-Tacoma |
| 9 | Стокгольм | Шанхай |
| 10 | Брюссель | Лос-Анджелес |
“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 has grown faster than expected over the last year, setting the stage for continued growth in 2025.”
Top 10 Business Travel Countries
As a mature market for business travel, it is not surprising to see that the European country rankings are relatively unchanged, with Germany maintaining its top position as the most-visited European country.
Italy has the largest increase in inbound travel in Europe. Its economic recovery has boosted confidence and business activity in the country. This is especially true for the second half of this year. Additionally, airlines have expanded operations in Italy and increased the number of flights as well as destinations.
The international ranking is also largely unchanged, with the U.S. in the top spot. Only Qatar and Singapore switched places. China has seen a strong recovery in travel, driven largely by factors such as eased travel restrictions and pent-up demand for travel, economic growth, and policy initiatives that encourage travel.
| 2024 Ranking | European countries | Intercontinental countries |
| 1 | Германия | Соединенные Штаты |
| 2 | Великобритания | Объединенные Арабские Эмираты |
| 3 | Нидерланды | Индия |
| 4 | Франция | Китай |
| 5 | Италия | Канада |
| 6 | Испания | Катар |
| 7 | Швейцария | Сингапур |
| 8 | Denmark | Япония |
| 9 | Швеция | Brazil |
| 10 | Австрия | Марокко |
Top 10 Business Travel Routes
London is the most important hub for European flights. It accounts for eight of the top ten routes in Europe. London to New York City is the top intercontinental route. New York City is at the top of the list for arrival hubs.
| 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, flight type and class of service
Business travelers mainly booked economy class on European flights (92%), while only 7% chose business class. The breakdown of intercontinental flight is the same: both business class and economic class make up equal 44%. The least booked classes are premium economy and first class.
Most European flights are direct (85%), owing to shorter distances, the high demand for point to point travel, and smaller aircraft. Only 52% of intercontinental flight from Europe is direct. Intercontinental travel often revolves around major airline hubs. Instead of all cities having direct flights to the other continents, airlines consolidate their passengers at hubs such as Amsterdam or Frankfurt to fill large aircrafts before flying long-distance.
Olivier Benoit is the senior vice president of BCD Consulting’s Advito. He said that there are other reasons for travelers to book economy on intra-European flights than just because it is required by their travel policy.
“The comfort difference between economy and business is often perceived to be insignificant when flying short distances. Many business travelers already enjoy frequent flyer services such as lounge access and priority boarding in economy.”
The return on investment for travel managers is much greater on economy tickets. Benoit said that these tickets are usually half the price of business class fares. 70% of them are shorter than two hours.
“On such short trips, a traveler’s productivity level will not differ much between business and economy class.”
Car rental
21% of all European air bookings included a car rental. This was done with an average of 4 days. The main reasons why people choose to rent a car over other modes of transportation include convenience, speed, the lack of alternatives, and price.
1. Belgium, Czech Republic. Denmark. Finland. France. Ireland. Luxembourg. Netherlands. Norway. Poland. Sweden. Switzerland. U.K.
2. Top routes combine the data of multiple airports from the following cities, including London (Heathrow), London Gatwick (and London City); Paris(Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Orly); New York City(John F. Kennedy), Newark (and La Guardia); and Shanghai (Pudong (and Hongqiao).
