2026 MBA Travel Survey
We conducted this survey in February 2026 with 851 MBA grad students attending top MBA Schools in the US. Here some of the most interesting insights we found.
MBA students make an average of 10+ trips during their MBA.
- 26% are international leisure trips
- 24% are domestic trips for personal reasons
- 20% are domestic leisure trips
Students usually do only 1-2 recruiting trips and it's done during their first year of school.
Most people are spending ~$13,000 per year on travel
- Domestic recruiting trips tend to be cheaper, having almost 75% of them costing less than $500
- Almost 80% of international leisure trips cost more than $1.5k
There's no significant difference in trip duration between 2Ys and 1Ys
- 50% of domestic trips are less than 3 days (for both leisure and personal issues)
- 82% of international leisure trips last more than 5 days
Domestic Leisure
Trip Cost
Almost half of students who travel domestically spend between $500-$1k per trip.
Trip Duration
The majority of domestic trips tend to last between 2 and 3 days.
Domestic Recruiting
Trip Cost - Usually Under $500
Recruiting trips are usually sponsored by the recruiters so this would be a "cheap" trip.
Trip Duration - Usually A Day
As expected, most recruiting domestic trips are quick, and 85% of them don't last more than 3 days.
International Leisure
Trip Cost
International trips are usually the most expensive ones; almost 73% of trips cost more than $1.5k per student.
Trip Duration
93% of the international trips with classmates last more than 4 days.
International Recruiting
Trip Cost
International recruiting trips are unusual, but 75% of students that make one of these trips spend less than $1.5k.
Trip Duration
Don't expect to travel much abroad for recruiting. If you do, these trips will last less than 5 days.
Domestic Personal
Trip Cost
73% of students that travel domestically for personal reasons don't spend more than $1k per trip.
Trip Duration
The majority of your personal domestic trips will last between 2 and 3 days.
International Personal
Trip Cost
Students who travel internationally for personal reasons tend to spend between $1k and $2k per trip.
Trip Duration
Students travel abroad for different personal reasons, but these trips tend to last longer than 6 days.
