When the U.S. economy collapsed last autumn, many companies had to make some quick

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decisions about travel, typically one of the first areas they trim when finances are tight. Should they cut back as most of their competitors were, continue business as usual or spend even more to get a leg up? Most companies — about 85 percent —decreased travel spending, according to the National Business Travel Association, a trade group in the United States.

But two recent reports, commissioned independently by the business travel association and another trade group, the U.S. Travel Association, found a clear link between business travel and corporate profit.

While both groups have an interest in promoting business travel, Henry H. Harteveldt, travel analyst for Forrester Research, agreed that in-person meetings were important in promoting business.

‘‘We are social beings,’’ he said.

‘‘There are emotional as well as rational benefits to face-to-face meetings.’’ Ultimately, he added, ‘‘Nothing replaces two business people building a professional relationship in person.’’ But he said companies should avoid unnecessary expenses and ensure that travelwas purposeful. With forethought, Mr. Harteveldt said, ‘‘there can be enormous benefits.’’ But companies must be careful not to overreact. Relying too much on technology or cutting back too sharply, he said, ‘‘can be just as harmful as wasting money on business travel.’’ Geoff Freeman, senior vice president for public affairs for the U.S. Travel Association, said that business travel had been unfairly characterized as an excessive perk in the wake of the U.S. taxpayer- financed bank bailouts last year. ‘‘It left the industry terribly exposed,’’ he said. ‘‘Therewas anger, there was emotion, but there was not enough data.’’ Adam Sacks, managing director of Oxford Economics, the firm that prepared the U.S. Travel Association report, said the results confirmed the bottomline value of business travel using government data that covered 14 economic sectors over 13 years, a broad review of related research and surveys of corporate executives and business travelers.

To some extent, Mr. Sacks said, the findings confirmed what business people already knew intuitively: Curbing travel may save money in the short term, but there are significant long-term benefits from investing in business travel. ‘‘Not all cuts are smart cuts,’’ he said.

Last autumn and spring, Brian Jacobsen, co-president ofMadison Park Greetings, a stationery and gift company in Seattle, said he carefully weighed how best to ride out the tough economic climate, and ‘‘made a strategic decision to do more travel.’’ He made cuts in other areas and paid almost every bill using credit cards so the company could earn free tickets. ‘‘Wehave actually increased our travel budget this year by 20 percent,’’ he said. ‘‘We saw it as an opportunity to have more of a presence while our competitors have been cutting back.’’ Brian Parish, president of IData, a technology consulting company for higher education based in Alexandria, Virginia, said he, too, saw the direct effect of in-person encounters. Earlier this year, negotiations for a couple of projects stalled. ‘‘They seemed on the fence,’’ he recalled of the prospective clients. ‘‘We braced ourselves.’’ So he quickly flew out to meet them.

‘‘We got the deal’’ in both cases, said Mr. Parish, who estimated the accounts to be worth a total of well over $400,000.

‘‘They were two clients we probably wouldn’t have had without making the trip. It showed them we were serious.’’ Craig A. Banikowski, president of the National Business Travel Association, noted in an e-mail message that two separate studies had reached essentially the same conclusion. ‘‘When you read either study,’’ he said, ‘‘you come away with the same questions: Is my business investing enough in traveling? Are my competitors going to gain the edge by optimizing their travel? Answering these questions effectively could mean the difference between surviving and thriving as we climb out of the recession.’’ Brooks C. Holtom, associate professor of management at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, said he had initially been skeptical of the two reports.

After reading both, Professor Holtom said that ‘‘deeper analysis would have benefited organizational decision makers, since the return on investment varies substantially by type of travel and industry.’’ But despite some concerns, ‘‘I agree with the broad findings’’ of the reports, he said. ‘‘In fact, relationships with people matter. All else equal, people do business with people they like.’’