The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), part of the $1.57 trillion global business travel and meetings industry, is urging US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to adopt a balanced and practical approach as it evaluates proposed changes to Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) requirements.
GBTA filed formal comments with CBP last week outlining potential competitive, operational and economic consequences of the proposed revisions. It says overly burdensome data collection measures and restrictive application processes could disrupt global business travel, undermine corporate mobility, and weaken USA’s position as a premier destination for international travel and meetings – with negative impacts on business travellers and the organisations that depend on them.
‘Security and efficient business travel are not mutually exclusive. While GBTA strongly supports efforts to protect US borders and enhance traveller security, the proposed changes pose significant risks and could undermine the benefits that business travel brings to organisations who send their employees on international trips to the US and the American destinations who welcome them,’ says Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA.
Business travel is central to global economic health, enabling trade, innovation, investment and person to person collaboration. According to 2022 GBTA data, business travel had an economic impact of $484 billion in the US and supported six million American jobs.
GBTA warns of a ‘chilling effect’ on US-bound travel, potentially diverting meetings, events and investments to other markets.
Proposed ESTA changes could introduce unintended consequences that ripple through the travel ecosystem.
These include a greater administrative burden due to new requirements to provide data for multiple years for social media accounts, phone numbers, email addresses, expanded family details, and potential biometric submissions.
Barriers to travel created by a mobile only application system, and longer processing and approval windows are other potential outcomes.
GBTA’s January 2026 industry poll reflecting feedback from 571 travel industry professionals across 40 countries shows concern about the proposed ESTA changes is substantial.
Some 78% of travel professionals representing organisations that regularly send employees to the U.S. are very (42%) or somewhat (36%) concerned.
Proposed requirements could shift travel patterns significantly – 43% say their companies are more likely to hold meetings outside the US and 19% plan to revise travel policies to limit US trips.
As well as this, 29% expect a near term decrease in US business travel, while 25% anticipate long term decreases.
Among European travel professionals, 67% say employees would prefer not to travel to the US if required to disclose extensive personal information.
Source: www.travelinc.co.nz
