Global Travel Buyer Index | New index for the tourism industry presented at ITB

The Global Travel Buyer Index (GTBI), which was presented yesterday, Tuesday, March 4, at the ITB exhibition, provides valuable information on the state and trends of the market.

The GTBI was created in cooperation with Dr Fried & Partner and ITB Berlin.

As Dr. Markus Heller, Managing Partner of Dr Fried & Partner, emphasized, the GTBI provides valuable information on the current market situation and the expectations of tourism buyers and serves as an early indicator of developments in the travel market.

The Global Travel Buyer Index (GTBI) is based on a quarterly survey that collects the assessments and expectations of tourism buyers from the ITB Buyers Circle. This group consists of decision makers working for tour operators, business travel, or the MICE market and have significant purchasing budgets. The aim of the index is to identify changes in purchasing behaviour at an early stage and provide a structured analysis of market dynamics.

In February 2025, 124 tourism buyers participated in the survey. The majority come from European markets (Germany: 24%, Europe overall: 52%), with other participants coming from North America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The focus of the purchases is on hotels (89%), DMC services (56%), transport (56%), and activities and events (49%).

Current market situation: purchasing activity remains high

The results for the current situation show that order volumes have increased over the past six months for 68% of respondents, while 23% have seen no change and 10% have reported a decrease. The percentage of fixed purchases, i.e., the percentage of purchased services secured by guarantees or long-term contracts, has also increased for 63% of respondents, while 30% report a stable trend and 7% a decrease.

In addition, 73% of respondents reported an increase in the time and effort required to conclude a contract, while 23% reported no change and only 3% reported a decrease.

The current situation index stands at 94 points (November 2024: 97 points).

Future expectations: Continued positive market growth
Expectations for the next six months are also largely positive. 65% of buyers expect their order volume to continue to increase, while 27% expect a stable development, and 7% expect a decrease.

In terms of the percentage of stable purchases, 60% expect an increase, 34% expect the contract situation to remain the same, and 6% predict a decrease. According to 62% of respondents, the cost of contracting will also increase, while 35% expect no change and only 3% predict a decrease.

The future expectations index stands at 92 points (November 2024: 96 points).

The Global Travel Buyer Index (GTBI) was published for the first time and stood at 94 points in February 2025 (November 2024: 97 points). The results show that buying activity remains high and that expectations for the coming months remain largely positive. The GTBI is updated quarterly and provides continuous market monitoring for tour operators, destinations, and service providers.

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