Europeans might not be able to Travel as they would Like!

If the European debt crisis worsens, it would wreak havoc on U.S. business travel, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

A new GBTA report said that a severe crisis could result in a 9% decline in trips and 16% drop in spending, or $88 billion in impact.

"Given the critical role of business travel in facilitating economic growth, the current slow U.S. recovery could be severely hampered if the European debt crisis is not resolved," the GBTA said. "International outbound travel, which has played an outsized part in the revival of business travel since the recession, would be crushed by further deterioration in the Eurozone."

The report, "U.S. Business Travel Outlook: European Debt Crisis Scenario," identified three scenarios:

• The current scenario, a short-lived mild recession that would result in continued growth in U.S. business travel spending at $263.5 and $277.3 billion in 2012 and 2013, respectively

• A moderate scenario of prolonged recession that would result in a spending reduction in business travel of almost $40 billion between 2012 and 2013.

• A severe scenario, where widespread debt and banking failures across the Eurozone and a possible dissolution of the European Union would push spending "back to levels not seen since the Great Recession with a reduction of spending of nearly $88 billion between 2012 and 2013."

“This data serves as a wakeup call to the entire industry as we watch European policymakers work to contain the debt crisis," Michael McCormick, executive director of GBTA, said in a statement.

“We’ve seen a resurgence in business-travel investment, meaning slow but strong economic recovery for the U.S. However, in a severe situation where the Eurozone may even break apart, business travel would drop dramatically, severely impeding economic growth overall.”