A third of UK travel managers expect the number of business trips to increase over the next 12 months.
The figure is higher than the western European average of 29% and the global average of 31%, which includes fast-developing economies such as Brazil, India and China, according to a new study.
However, rising spend is a major concern for UK travel managers.
More than half (54%) expect travel costs to rise over the next 12 months, up from 38% last year.
The number who predict costs will fall has dropped from 15% to just 9%, according to research covering travel managers in 24 countries conducted by AirPlus.
The conclusion is that rising cost per trip is going to be a major factor in 2014 as well as a simple increase in trip numbers, the reports says.
AirPlus UK managing director Yael Klein said: “The fact that UK travel managers are optimistic about the number of trips taken in the next 12 months is a good sign of UK’s economic recovery and can only be seen as a positive step for UK organisations.
“The fact that costs are expected to rise is no surprise, but I urge corporations to continue to execute the controlled approaches to travel management they put in place over the last few years, as this will help to save costs across their businesses.”
In the fields of corporate social responsibility and technology, travel managers in the UK give most weight to the aspect of “environmental awareness” (60%), well ahead of any other country in western Europe and North America.
Klein said: “I am pleased to see that UK businesses continue to be ahead of the game when it comes to best practice travel management.
“The UK has established itself as a trailblazer in forward thinking professional travel management and I have no doubt will continue to grow from strength to strength.”