The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the voice of the global business travel industry, submitted written testimony to the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Immigration Policy and Enforcement Subcommittee in support of expanding the Visa Waiver Program. Created in 1986, the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) has been a successful initiative to improve security and grow the economy.

Expanding the program that currently allows a reciprocal 90-day, visa-free travel with the 36 countries that currently qualify for visa waiver status, would be a huge boon to the struggling economy. GBTA supports the continued expansion of the VWP because it promotes global business. Global business travel spending fuels the U.S. and global economies. In 2011, global business travel spending will reach nearly $1 trillion.

One of the primary objectives of the VWP is to facilitate legitimate travel without jeopardizing security. The program has more than met this objective. It is estimated that from fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2010, over 98 million visitors were admitted to the United States under the VWP-both leisure and business travelers. As an example, since Korea joined the program, the number of Korean nationals traveling to the U.S. jumped 49 percent last year from 2009, surpassing the 1.1 million mark for the first time.

“International business travel continues to be one of the few growth areas of our economy. Expanding the Visa Waiver Program will allow more inbound international travel which will be a tremendous boost for the economy,” commented Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. “There has never been a more important time to make it easier for business travelers which will ultimately lead to even more travel. Expanding this program is a win for the U.S. economy.”

As part of its work, GBTA actively tracks business travel trends through the GBTA Business Travel Quarterly Outlook (BTQ). The latest projections show business travel maintaining an upward trajectory in 2012. While the U.S. economy faces challenges, many markets abroad, particularly in Asia, continue to grow at a much faster pace. U.S. companies operating globally are enjoying export booms and gains in their overall competitiveness. GBTA is projecting that corporations are expected to book 3.3% more trips abroad in 2012 and increase their international travel spend 7.7% to $34.3 billion. This follows 2011 growth of 9.1% in international travel spend as currently forecast.  

In addition to the BTQ, GBTA has conducted an analysis of the relationship between the GBTA Business Travel Index, a proprietary measure of business travel spending derived from the BTQ, and U.S. non-farm civilian employment from the year 2000 to the present. Our analysis shows the GBTA Business Travel Index is a leading indicator of U.S. employment:
- If the GBTA BTI increases during a particular quarter, there is a very high likelihood U.S. employment will also increase during the following quarter.
- During the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, the GBTA BTI saw a significant increase; three months later, U.S. employment increased by 658,000.

McCormick concluded: “It’s a logical analysis: when businesses are confident in a growing economy, they send their employees on the road to secure even more business. This results in an increase in sales for companies, necessitating the hiring of more staff to fill those sales, more employees to accommodate the needs of business travelers and a ripple effect throughout the economy.”