Mobile technologies – including Wi-Fi, travel apps and digital wallets – are transforming business travelers' experience around the globe. That's according to the first-ever GBTA Global Business Traveler Sentiment Index™, research from the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), in partnership with American Express.

Released last week, this first global report aimed to understand travel trends in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States by examining how business travelers feel about their travel experience and how those feelings affect their actual behaviors related to travel. It also showcased many differences (but also some similarities) between the countries surveyed for the study.

Looking at Germany, compared with business travelers in other parts of the world, Germans are slightly less satisfied with many aspects of their work trips. In all, 65 percent of German business travelers said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their overall business travel experiences in the past three months compared with a global average of 71 percent. Of all German business travelers surveyed, only 39 percent were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with getting through airport security, for example, compared with a global average of 50 percent.

Substantially more German travelers report that they always feel safe when traveling (62 percent) than feel business travel in general is safe (44 percent). It is possible that travelers' perceptions were adversely affected by the March 24 Germanwings plane crash in France, which took place during the time the Index survey was conducted.

The study's look at the U.K. showed that business travelers in the country are in the middle of the pack when it comes to adopting mobile apps and sharing economy-based services for work trips, with one exception - paying for and tracking expenses. Six in 10 U.K. business travelers are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with processes they use to complete expense reports, compared with 55 percent of all global business travelers. Paper receipts are still most common (71 percent), but U.K. business travelers also submit receipts as images from a photocopier or scanner (36 percent) or mobile device (24 percent).

Get the latest on all the business travel trends across the globe unveiled in the study. For the GBTA Business Traveler Sentiment Index™ – At a Glance executive summary, please click here. To view the full GBTA Business Traveler Sentiment Index™, please click here.

About the Global Business Travel Association

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premier business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area serving stakeholders across six continents. GBTA and its 8,000+ members represent and advocate for the $1.48 trillion global business travel and meetings industry. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy, and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. For more information, visit GBTA.org.

About the GBTA Foundation

The mission of the GBTA Foundation, the US 501c3 charitable arm of GBTA, is to help the global business travel industry create a positive impact and a better future for people and the planet. The GBTA Foundation focuses on the strategy and execution of GBTA's global sustainability programs, supporting initiatives related to climate action; diversity, equity and inclusion; and other talent-related topics via education, research and advocacy. For more information, visit GBTAFoundation.org.