International business travel in a digital world economy

International business travel involves the trans-border movement of hundreds of millions of people each year and is a phenomenon that both drives and is driven by processes of continued globalisation and the intensification of an international world economy (see Beaverstock et al., 2009, Beaverstock et al., 2010, Davidson and Cope, 2007, Faulconbridge et al., 2009 and Welch and Worm, 2005). Defined by Aguilera (2008 pp1109–1110) as ‘work-related travel to an irregular place of work (for example: to visit a client, participate in a conference or attend a meeting)’, business travel has become one of the defining features of working life for millions of people around the globe and a normal part of their professional routines.