European buyer salaries increase but dissatisfaction grows

The average salary of European travel managers has risen by three per cent year-on-year but half of buyers say their salary is too low for their responsibilities and one-third do not feel well recognised within their organisation.

BTN Europe’s 2024 Travel Manager Salary & Job Satisfaction Survey found that the average salary for respondents across the continent was €76,124, excluding bonuses, which was up from an average of €73,870 in 2023.

Travel managers based in the UK, who had an average salary of €77,979, and Germany (€75,631) once again had the highest average salaries in Europe but they only increased marginally year-on-year.

The survey also found that the gender gap between male and female buyers had narrowed slightly year-on-year – by around one percentage point – but was still more than 16 per cent on average reflecting this ongoing equality challenge.

While most respondents (73 per cent) received a higher salary in 2024 than during the previous year, nearly one quarter (23 per cent) saw no increase in pay, while 7 per cent experienced a year-on-year drop in salary.

The survey also reveals that half of travel managers now feel their salary is insufficient for their responsibilities – up from 43 per cent in 2023. Only 35 per cent believe they are currently “fairly” compensated (down from 44 per cent last year) and just 15 per cent consider themselves “well paid”.

This growing sense of dissatisfaction is also reflected by an increase in the number of European travel managers who do not feel they are getting the recognition they deserve within their organisations – this percentage rose by 4 points year-on-year to 33 per cent in 2024. Only a quarter of respondents currently feel they are well recognised within their company.

The survey also examines the close correlation between travel spend, experience and remuneration for buyers, as well as how their success is being assessed within their companies and their changing responsibilities – it also shines a spotlight on the biggest challenges travel managers are facing today. 

For more details, read the full survey results and analysis.