The number of business trips and the cost of those trips is set to rise in 2019, according to the 14th annual International Travel Management Study from AirPlus International, a travel payment solutions company. Almost half (45 percent) of the 777 corporate travel managers surveyed by AirPlus in 24 countries expect their company to travel more in the year ahead. That figure is up from 35 percent in 2018 and the highest since the global financial crisis of the late 2000s. Only 10 percent of travel managers believe their company will travel less, while 44 percent expect no change. Almost half (46 percent) of travel managers expect the global economy to affect business travel positively in 2019. That is well ahead of last year (27 percent) and the highest figure in the six years the study has asked this question. Only 16 percent of travel managers expect the economy to affect business travel negatively, down from 20 percent in 2018. Also, 51 percent of travel managers expect their company to increase its travel spend in 2019 – up from 41 percent in 2018.