[INTELLIGENCE] APAC cities top of mind for Australian business travellers

A STUDY by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has revealed that cities in Asia-Pacific remain high on the list for Australian business travellers, with the top four spots going to Singapore, Auckland, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

This highlights the significance of regional centres for Australian businesses.

London however, maintains its spot as the highest ranked destination outside of Asia-Pacific, followed by San Francisco and New York. Meanwhile, strong links between Australia’s technology sector and the Silicon Valley as well as improved airline connectivity appear to be driving an increase in business travel to San Francisco, which has overtaken New York as the top US business destination for Australians.

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In Asia-Pacific alone, Singapore, Auckland and Hong Kong remain unchanged as the top three business travel destinations, while Bangkok returns to the rankings after a year’s absence. This highlights a renewed confidence in the city following a brief period of political unrest, while China’s declining popularity could be linked to the country’s economic performance.

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“While we haven’t seen movement across our top three international destinations for Australian business travellers, we have noticed a decline in business travel to China over the past twelve months,” said Jo Sully, vice president and general manager, American Express GBT, Australia.

“Shanghai has fallen from sixth to tenth in the overall international rankings, and Beijing has dropped off the rankings entirely.”

“Despite recent reports that China has overtaken the US as the world’s largest business travel market, the Chinese travel market continues to be dominated by domestic travel. The decline in Australian business travel to China is likely to be heavily influenced by the slowdown in the Chinese economy and a wane in their demand for Australian resources.”

This data encompassed all air bookings made directly with GBT for Australia-based travellers between March 2015 to April 2016, and shows the top 10 most-booked destinations within the Asia-Pacific region and globally.

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