The Business Travel Association estimated that the UK lost £5.4 billion in GDP last week because of the unprecedented decline in corporate travel trips following the pandemic.
The figure comes from a new Business Travel Tracker, developed by the BTA and data provider Travelogix to analyse the economic value of corporate travel.
In the third week of May 2021, business travel trips from the UK were 90% below the same week in 2019.
The BTA said this decrease has lost the UK’s GDP £5.4 billion across 10 international and domestic air routes.
About £4.4 billion was lost from international business travel and a further £1 billion from domestic business travel.
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the BTA, said: “The impact on our industry following the coronavirus pandemic has been catastrophic.
“As a lucrative driver for the UK and the world, it is more important than ever to demonstrate the immense value of the BTA’s members, partners, and the entire business travel sector.
“These figures today powered by Travelogix are staggering, and we are confident our weekly Business Travel Tracker will provide a stark reminder to the Government of the overwhelming significance of business travel to UK GDP.”
Chris Lewis, founder and chief executive of Travelogix, added: “We are delighted to be working with [the BTA] on this important campaign, and we hope our accurate, real-time data will drive global awareness of the impact of the current travel restrictions. We look forward to our data turning positive as the world opens up.”