UK-based business travel salaries fell by 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2025, according to the latest Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment.

C&M¡¯s analysis of the market found that salaries for new jobs in corporate travel achieved an average of ?35,544, which was a drop of just over ?1,500 on the same period of last year. Business travel currently accounts for around 25 per cent of C&M's recruitment activity, with the majority of jobs being in the leisure travel sector.

The reduction in average pay follows significant rises in the previous two years when salaries for new corporate travel roles increased by 12.5 per cent in the first half of 2024 and 9.3 per cent in 2023.

More positively for the business travel sector, the first six months of 2025 saw a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of candidates being placed in UK corporate travel positions.

The fall in average salaries for new jobs in business travel bucked an upward trend across the wider UK travel industry, which saw average pay rising by 3.1 per cent year-on-year to reach ?38,919.

C&M also highlighted a larger increase in pay for senior travel roles, which experienced a 7.4 per cent year-on-year rise to an average of ?58,230, although there was a dip in pay for ¡°standard¡± positions of 1.6 per cent to ?30,788.

Barbara Kolosinska, C&M¡¯s co-owner and managing director, said travel salaries in the UK have ¡°risen consistently¡± since the Covid-19 pandemic ¨C the average wage for standard travel jobs has increased by 19 per cent or ?4,925 since 2020.

¡°Travel has always been an attractive sector to work in, but has historically been underpaid,¡± she added. ¡°With these increases in wages, we are now in a much better position to compete with other industries for the best candidates out there.¡±