The most expensive business trip destination in the world in 2022… hold your breath.. is New York, as a post-pandemic surge in business travel and tourism increased costs by 8 per cent from the previous year. The Big Apple cost business travellers a whopping $796 per day, according to ECA International, a consulting firm which released the report Tuesday.
According to the findings, New York has been crowned the top spot owing to its most expensive shopping area and the most lucrative luxury housing market.
ECA looked at daily expenses in 457 locations across 196 countries, with the per day cost covering a four-star hotel room, meals, laundry, drinks, taxi trips and other incidentals. The data company said that the aim of the report is to help organisations anticipate the cost of business trips and short-term assignments.
While the United States dominated the rankings overall, with both Washington DC and San Francisco making the top five on the list, Europe also featured on the list with expensive business hubs Geneva and Zurich ranking on the second ($700) and fourth positions ($641) respectively. Additionally, London and Paris also made it into the top 10.
Meanwhile, in Asia, Hong Kong was the most expensive destination with average daily cost of $520, followed by Singapore, which was just $5 more. It overtook Tokyo to become the second-most expensive city in Asia to visit for business.
“Hotel costs continue to make up a majority of the overall cost of business travel, and in spite of lower occupancy levels in 2022, advertised room rates (in Hong Kong) did not fall significantly,” Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, told CNBC.
Similarly, Angola’s Luanda was the priciest place in Africa.
Climbing inflation rates were a major aspect in the rise of travel costs, while a pandemic-fueled drop in demand led to more affordable costs in places like China.
Sri Lanka, Laos, and Pakistan saw the largest increase in expenses for travellers, the report found. For instance, business travel expenses in Colombo, Sri Lanka were 75% higher in local currency terms than the year prior, according to the report.
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