SYDNEY, Australia – Australian business travelers are most frequently traveling to cities in the United States (US) when traveling outside of Asia Pacific (APAC), according to data from American Express Global Business Travel (GBT). The strengthening US economy appears to be driving an influx of business travelers to many key US cities, with seven out of the top ten international locations beyond Asia Pacific being located in the US.
Encompassing all air bookings made directly with GBT for Australian-based travelers between March 2014 and April 2015, the travel destinations report provides a snapshot of business travel flows within, and from, Australia. Sydney, Singapore and London emerge as the top destinations for domestic, APAC, and international business travel outside APAC, respectively. Singapore, Auckland and Hong Kong emerge as the top three international destinations, highlighting the dominance of regional centres for Australian business.
“Singapore remains the leading business hub of Asia-Pacific, and with many large corporations having headquarters there, and we anticipate that it will remain a top international destination for Australian business travelers for some time to come,” said David Reimer, General Manager, American Express Global Business Travel, APAC.
“The biggest change over the last twelve months is the growing dominance of the US as a priority market for business travel beyond APAC. While US cities comprised less than half of the top ten in 2013-2014, we’ve now seen that number increase to seven out of the top ten this year. This indicates the growing importance of the US to Australian businesses.”
Asia remains the focus
When looking at the rankings for total international business travel from Australia, countries within Asia remain the primary focus. London is the highest ranked destination outside of Asia, followed by New York. The top five rankings remain unchanged from the previous year, however The Philippines is a new listing to this year’s top ten rankings, coming in at ninth.
Top 10 total international destinations including APAC
Rank Destination
1 SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
2 AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
3 HONG KONG, CHINA
4 KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
5 LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
6 SHANGHAI, CHINA
7 TOKYO, JAPAN
8 NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
9 SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES
10 MANILA, PHILIPPINES
US dominates outside of APAC
North America has become an increasingly attractive destination for Australian business travelers over the last two years. Five out of the top ten business travel destinations outside APAC in 2013-2014 were North America cities, and this year that number has risen to seven out of the top ten cities. London maintains a strong lead on its number one ranking outside of Asia Pacific, however the UK, Germany and Netherlands are the only European nations to make the top ten rankings. Paris, previously in the top 10, dropped out of this year’s rankings.
Top 10 international destinations excluding APAC
Rank Destination
1 LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
2 NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
3 SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES
4 LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES
5 HOUSTON, UNITED STATES
6
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
7 CHICAGO, UNITED STATES
8 DALLAS, UNITED STATES
9 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
10 ORLANDO, UNITED STATES
Singapore leads Asia Pacific
Singapore remains the top APAC business travel destination for Australian business travelers, followed by Auckland and Hong Kong. As New Zealand’s financial centre, Auckland remains an important destination for many global technology, pharmaceutical, and professional services companies, headquartered in Australia but with operations in New Zealand.
Bangkok has dropped out of the top ten this year, most likely as a result of the political unrest which occurred in the country in 2014. While Seoul was not included in the top ten rankings for 2013-2014, it is ranked at eighth in this year, suggesting it’s continued emergence as a technology hub in Asia and globally.
Top 10 APAC destinations
Rank Destination
1 SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
2 AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
3 HONG KONG, CHINA
4 KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
5 SHANGHAI, CHINA
6 TOKYO, JAPAN
7 MANILA, PHILIPPINES
8 SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
9 JAKARTA, INDONESIA
10 BEIJING, CHINA
Source: American Express Global Business Travel AUS point of sale data destination analysis for April 2014 – March 2015.
Sydney remains number one
The most-booked domestic destination for Australian business travelers was, unsurprisingly, Sydney, followed by Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. These rankings are consistent with rankings from 2013-2014.
Top 10 domestic destinations
Rank Destination
1 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
2 MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
3 BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
4 PERTH, AUSTRALIA
5 ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
6 CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
7 DARWIN, AUSTRALIA
8 MT ISA, AUSTRALIA
9 PORT HEDLAND, AUSTRALIA
10 MORANBAH, AUSTRALIA
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- While Seoul was not included in the top ten rankings for 2013-2014, it is ranked at eighth in this year, suggesting it's continued emergence as a technology hub in Asia and globally.
- The strengthening US economy appears to be driving an influx of business travelers to many key US cities, with seven out of the top ten international locations beyond Asia Pacific being located in the US.
- “Singapore remains the leading business hub of Asia-Pacific, and with many large corporations having headquarters there, and we anticipate that it will remain a top international destination for Australian business travelers for some time to come,” said David Reimer, General Manager, American Express Global Business Travel, APAC.
