According to the latest figures, business travel is still mainly focused on the US, from the UK and vice versa and the second most popular destinations are to Asia, despite the fact the worlds fastest growing economies are in the Middle East and Africa.
Part of the reason for the focus on the US and Asia, is the established and stable economies and that these are very affluent countries. The UK and the US have very strong financial ties to one another and both of them have a tendency to follow each other. If the US were to start exploring a bit more in these other regions, perhaps the UK would follow as well.
In the US, there is a perception that Africa is not developed, as there isn’t much said about the countries in the regions other than reports of civil war and famine. The US has definitely started to invest a bit more in interests in Dubai, and UAE, but with the latest reports of the prices of oil dropping, the US is being cautious about investing too heavily.
As the UK is closer to these destinations, and has better access, if perhaps the UK were to show stronger interest, the US would follow suit. This would also result in stronger and more stable economies for these neglected regions.
With flights and access being easier than ever, the US as well as the UK should start to pursue investing more financially in these regions as the World Bank has stated they are the fastest growing and most lucrative economies.