Navan Survey Finds Business Travel Still Essential
Eighth annual State of Corporate Travel and Expense Report draws on 1,752 traveler and manager responses across four countries.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Business Travel
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Navan released its eighth annual State of Corporate Travel and Expense Report, based on 1,752 survey responses collected in August 2026. Most respondents, including 87% of travelers and 89% of managers, consider business travel essential or necessary.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that business travel remains a core part of corporate operations despite ongoing debate about travel budgets and virtual alternatives. Travelers' frequent off-platform bookings also point to gaps between company travel programs and employee behavior.
The report surveyed 994 business travelers and 758 corporate travel and finance managers across 20 industry sectors in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Its figures come from self-reported survey responses, and the extraction does not indicate how representative the sample is of all corporate travelers.
The players
Navan
Navan is a corporate travel and expense management company that publishes an annual State of Corporate Travel and Expense Report.
Skift
Skift is a travel industry media and research company that partnered with Navan on this report.
The details
Navan produced the report in partnership with Skift, collecting responses in August 2026 from business travelers and corporate travel and finance managers. Beyond the affirmation of business travel's value, 83% of travelers feel positive about business trips overall, while 73% feel positive about booking, changing, expensing and support logistics.
Timeline
August 2026: Survey responses were collected from travelers and managers.
12 months ended August 2026: Travelers reported their business trip counts for this period.
November 4, 2026: Navan released the report.
2027: Travelers expect more business travel and meetings, with 58% expecting to travel more and 71% expecting more colleague meetings and events.
Travel Outlook
Navan's eighth annual State of Corporate Travel and Expense Report extends the series' year-over-year tracking of business travel sentiment. The 2027 expectations it reports, with 58% of travelers planning more trips, point to how corporate travel demand is projected to shift in the coming year.
Travelers who book outside company platforms may face gaps in expense tracking and policy compliance, which the survey highlights as common behavior. Companies planning for 2027 can use the report's expectations of 58% more travel and 71% more colleague meetings to set budgets and support booking tools.
The takeaway
Business travel remains widely viewed as essential, but a large share of employees book trips outside official company channels. Organizations that make their booking tools easier to use may bring more travel into managed programs.
What happens next
Navan has released the 2027 State of Corporate Travel and Expense Report, with the full edition available on its resources page.
Further reading
For broader context on corporate trip planning, explore Business Travel coverage.
More information
Read the complete State of Corporate Travel and Expense 2027 report from Navan.
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Is your work travel and expense process getting better or worse?
