As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance at breakneck speed, there’s no doubt the travel industry will undergo further transformation in 2025.
According to SAP Concur research, a staggering 95% of business travellers are eager to adopt AI-driven automation for tasks such as visa and documentation support, expense tracking, and identifying sustainable travel options. Meanwhile, 64% of travel managers worldwide are keen to see AI automate at least part of their responsibilities.
JoΓ£o Carvalho, Managing Director of SAP Concur in Southern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, forecasts five key trends that will shape the travel and expense (T&E) management landscape in 2025:
1. Balancing innovation and security
As AI streamlines T&E processes, organisations must also contend with heightened cyber threats. To mitigate these risks, companies will invest in advanced digital systems and robust security protocols to safeguard sensitive business and customer data.
2. Optimising T&E budgets
With inflation slowing, businesses are under pressure to maximise travel investments. In 2025, financial controllers will face growing demands to optimise T&E budgets without compromising financial stability. Compliance and visibility will take centre stage, driving the adoption of unified platforms to manage T&E.
3. The evolution of expense reports
AI is significantly transforming expense management, making processes faster, more accurate, and highly efficient. In 2025, AI will replace traditional expense reports with exception reports, flagging only deviations from T&E policies. This will enable travel managers to conduct precise audits, detect fraud, and eliminate errors with ease.
4. Collaborative AI adoption
As AI becomes increasingly integral to corporate travel, its integration will focus on enhancing efficiency, personalisation, and the human touch. Capabilities such as pre-trip cost predictions and policy-aware itinerary recommendations will become standard, helping organisations optimise expenses and compliance.
5. Demand for seamless traveller experiences
As business travel rebounds, expectations for seamless traveller experiences are rising. Advanced technology is driving demand for real-time updates on disruptions, cancellations, and safety concerns. AI-powered T&E systems are stepping up to meet these needs, offering improved duty-of-care solutions and enabling organisations to support employees in unpredictable travel scenarios.
As 2025 unfolds, Carvalho notes that businesses must navigate the intricate balance between innovation, security, and cost efficiency to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving travel and expense landscape. He commented that by leveraging AI’s transformative potential and prioritising traveller-centric experiences, organisations can tap into new efficiencies, fuel growth, and achieve success in the year to come.
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