Business Travel Remains Important Despite Rising Costs

Chart showing that most small businesses say business travel is important for networking and growth, while many also report that travel costs affect event attendance decisions.

Business travel remains deeply important for small businesses in 2026—but rising travel costs may increasingly shape who can participate in conferences, networking events, and in-person meetings.

New data from the Small Business Expo Research Desk (n = 666) shows that the overwhelming majority of small businesses still view travel as important for generating business opportunities. At the same time, most respondents also say travel costs now affect their willingness to attend events and meetings.

The findings highlight a growing challenge for small businesses: in-person networking and relationship-building continue to drive growth, but rising airfare, fuel, lodging, and transportation costs may be making business travel harder to justify financially.

Highlights

86.5% say travel is at least somewhat important for generating business opportunities
54.4% say travel is very important or essential
72.8% say travel costs have a moderate or major impact on event attendance
Only 8.7% say travel costs have no impact on attendance decisions

Business Travel Still Plays a Major Role in Growth

The clearest finding in the dataset is that small businesses still place significant value on business travel and in-person events.

A combined 86.5% of respondents say travel is at least somewhat important for generating new business opportunities, including 54.4% who describe it as either very important or essential.

Only 5.0% say travel is not important at all.

These findings suggest that conferences, trade shows, networking events, and in-person meetings remain deeply tied to how many small businesses generate leads, build partnerships, and expand customer relationships.

Even in an increasingly digital business environment, face-to-face interaction still appears highly valuable for many SMBs.

Most Businesses Say Travel Costs Affect Attendance Decisions

At the same time, the data shows that rising travel costs are heavily influencing participation.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72.8%) say travel costs have either a moderate or major impact on their willingness to attend events or meetings. Only 8.7% say travel costs have no impact at all. According to the U.S. Travel Association, rising transportation and lodging costs continue to influence how businesses budget for conferences, meetings, and corporate travel in 2026.²

This creates the strongest tension in the dataset: small businesses continue to value business travel, but cost pressures may increasingly limit participation.

That tension is especially relevant in the current economic environment. As of May 2026, airfare prices and fuel costs remain elevated across many markets amid ongoing oil market volatility, airline pricing pressure, and broader inflationary concerns.

Jet fuel prices have remained sensitive to geopolitical instability and shipping disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes. At the same time, many airlines continue to face higher operating costs and capacity limitations, contributing to elevated ticket prices and travel expenses.¹

For small businesses, those pressures may increasingly affect decisions around conferences, trade shows, networking events, client meetings, and business development travel overall.

The Businesses That Value Travel Most Also Feel the Most Cost Pressure

One of the most interesting findings in the data is that businesses placing the highest value on travel also report some of the strongest cost sensitivity.

Among respondents who say travel is essential for generating opportunities:

47.5% say travel costs have a major impact on attendance decisions

Among those saying travel is very important:

37.9% report major cost impact

This suggests that the businesses relying most heavily on in-person networking and relationship-building may also be the businesses feeling the greatest pressure from rising travel expenses.

What This Means for Small Business Strategy

For small businesses, the findings reinforce the continued importance of business travel while highlighting the growing need for cost-conscious planning.

Businesses may need to become more selective about:

which events they attend
how often they travel
and how they evaluate return on investment from conferences and meetings.

In 2026, the challenge for many SMBs may not be deciding whether business travel matters—it may be determining how to continue participating while managing rising travel expenses.

Final Takeaway

The data suggests that business travel remains highly valuable for small businesses, particularly when it comes to networking, partnerships, and generating new opportunities. At the same time, rising travel costs are increasingly influencing attendance decisions across the SMB landscape.

As airfare, fuel, and lodging expenses continue to fluctuate, many businesses may become more selective about how they approach conferences, trade shows, and in-person meetings. Even so, the strong importance placed on travel in this dataset suggests that face-to-face business relationships remain difficult to replace.

Footnotes

Reuters. Reporting on 2026 fuel prices, airline operating costs, and global travel markets. https://www.reuters.com
U.S. Travel Association. Business Travel and Industry Outlook. https://www.ustravel.org