Asia Pacific is the leading region in the world for business travel with spend expected to hit a record £230bn in 2014, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

The GBTA Annual Global Report & Forecast, which analyses business travel spend in 75 countries, revealed that growth in business travel spend in China far outpaces the rest of the world.

Business travel spend in China has grown from £19bn in 2000 to £132bn in 2013, an average of 16.2% per year. By comparison, growth in business travel spending in the US has grown at an annual rate of just 1.1% since 2000.

Asia Pacific has the largest share of the business travel spend market with 38%, followed by Western Europe with 24% and North America with 21%.

Michael McCormick, executive director and COO at the GBTA, said: “This report underscores that China, along with the other BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia and India, are leveraging their business travel expenditures into more economic opportunities. We expect to see this shift in business travel spending to continue.”

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