Business travel spending in India is expected to grow 8.6% in 2014 to $62.2 billion and increase another 9.5% in 2015 to $28.6 billion, according to the latest semi-annual “GBTA BTI Outlook — India” report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Foundation.

Sponsored by Visa Inc., the report includes the GBTA BTI an index of business travel spending that tracks market performance over time.

“Growth in business travel spending in India over the last 15 years has been nothing short of remarkable, helping to pace the tremendous performance of the overall Indian economy,” said Welf Ebeling, GBTA vice president of operations for Asia Pacific. “Renewed optimism for the Indian economy on the heels of new pro-business leadership is great news for the continued future growth of business travel spending in the region.”

According to the GBTA, key highlights of the report include:

• GBTA’s recent projection for India’s total business travel spending is 2.1% higher than expected in its 2014 H1 outlook.

• India’s GDP grew 4.6% during the first quarter of 2014 and 5.7% during the second quarter — the best performance since 2011.

• Consumer spending expanded by 13% in the first quarter of 2014, a rate not seen since the early 2000s. Businesses are also feeling more confident in India’s economic prospects. Improving exports are a key reason for the upward revision to GBTA’s business travel outlook.

• Rising inflation is an ongoing concern for Indian policymakers as consumer price inflation reached a high of 11% late last year. 

• Domestic business travel has grown rapidly over the last 15 years as Indian standards of living have been boosted significantly by market liberalization. GBTA forecasts domestic business travel to grow 9% in 2014, a significant upgrade from GBTA’s previous forecast of 2.2%. It will continue its growth in 2015, rising an additional 9.2%.