Business travel spending is a key component of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments (BoP) under the services account, capturing outflows related to accommodation, local transport, and meals for work-related trips abroad.
It excludes airfare and tickets. The figures reflect broader access to foreign exchange (FX) by Nigerian residents for professional purposes and serve as an indirect indicator of international business engagement, trade activity, and confidence in the economy.
A sharp increase in spending, such as the 366 percent jump in the first nine months of 2025, signals both improved FX availability and heightened business activity. Economists link the rise to stronger international trade, investment flows, and economic stability, while cautioning that higher FX outflows can affect foreign reserves and the current account if not offset by exports or remittances.
Previous years’ BoP data showed much lower expenditures, reflecting tighter FX availability and weaker business travel. The 2025 surge aligns with a relatively stable naira, enhanced FX liquidity, and government policies supporting corporate access to foreign currency for development and trade purposes. Analysts also emphasize the relationship between business travel and GDP, noting that increased corporate travel often corresponds to higher business volumes and potential contributions to economic growth.
Additionally, Nigeria’s foreign reserves and macroeconomic policies, including FX market interventions, play a crucial role in sustaining these outflows without destabilizing the external sector. Stakeholders monitor travel-related FX usage closely to balance the benefits of global engagement with the need to maintain reserve adequacy and currency stability.
A Kenyan man shows one-hundred US dollar bills at a currency exchange office in Nairobi, Kenya, 14 August 2018. The Turkish currency Lira has lost some 40 percent in value against the US dollar amid a growing dispute between the USA and Turkey. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 10 August 2018, called on Turkish citizens to exchange gold and foreign currency to Lira in a bid to strengthen the currency amid an economic crisis following US President Trump’s doubling of tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports up to 50 percent.
Currency exchange in Nairobi, Kenya – 14 Aug 2018
Business travel spending is a key component of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments (BoP) under the services account, capturing outflows related to accommodation, local transport, and meals for work-related trips abroad. It excludes airfare and tickets. The figures reflect broader access to foreign exchange (FX) by Nigerian residents for professional purposes and serve as an indirect indicator of international business engagement, trade activity, and confidence in the economy.
A sharp increase in spending, such as the 366 percent jump in the first nine months of 2025, signals both improved FX availability and heightened business activity. Economists link the rise to stronger international trade, investment flows, and economic stability, while cautioning that higher FX outflows can affect foreign reserves and the current account if not offset by exports or remittances.
Previous years’ BoP data showed much lower expenditures, reflecting tighter FX availability and weaker business travel. The 2025 surge aligns with a relatively stable naira, enhanced FX liquidity, and government policies supporting corporate access to foreign currency for development and trade purposes. Analysts also emphasize the relationship between business travel and GDP, noting that increased corporate travel often corresponds to higher business volumes and potential contributions to economic growth.
Additionally, Nigeria’s foreign reserves and macroeconomic policies, including FX market interventions, play a crucial role in sustaining these outflows without destabilizing the external sector. Stakeholders monitor travel-related FX usage closely to balance the benefits of global engagement with the need to maintain reserve adequacy and currency stability.
