PHOTO
The MENA-based online travel marketplace Wego has acquired Singapore-based business travel and expense management company Travelstop. The company said the strategic move will allow Wego to expand into corporate travel and expense management.
Through this acquisition, Wego says it aims to address the challenges faced by businesses operating in emerging markets, such as fragmented travel options and manual expense reporting. The combined platform will look to provide businesses with a one-stop solution, enabling them to manage their corporate travel needs while gaining greater control over expenses.
The global business travel industry is rebounding at a more accelerated rate than earlier forecasted, with spending to grow to nearly $1.8 trillion by 2027, according to findings of the 2023 GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook – Annual Global Report and Forecast.
The reported further revealed that business travel spending would surpass its pre-pandemic level of $1.4 trillion by 2024, boosted by favourable economic conditions and an acceleration in the recovery process since COVID-19.
In 2022, global business travel spending rose 47% to $1.03 trillion, with the GBTA revealing in March that the MEA region accounted for $23 billion or approximately 2.5% of overall spending within the sector.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Daniel Luiz)
