Hong Kong retains spot as costliest business destination in Asia

Hong Kong has been ranked as the costliest business travel destination in Asia for the second yr in a row, in line with a latest report.

ECA International’s latest day by day rate survey countries ranked based on short trip costs: rooms in 4-star hotels, meals, laundry, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, taxi fare and incidentals.

The study is designed to assist organizations anticipate the associated fee of business travel and short-term assignments, the information firm said.

Business travel currently costs a mean of $520 per day in Hong Kong, which can also be the sixteenth costliest business travel destination on this planet.

This is despite low demand from business travelers as Hong Kong strictly adhered to mainland China’s tough zero Covid-19 policy. It was only at the top of 2022 that it began to ease a few of its restrictions.

“Hotel costs still account for nearly all of total business travel costs and despite lower occupancy levels in 2022, advertised room rates [in Hong Kong] hasn’t dropped significantly,” Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, told CNBC.

“This could have been driven by demand from local residents, while hotels may need to take care of room rates to cover the extra costs of maintaining services in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The report is predicated on information collected in 2022 from 457 locations in greater than 190 countries, said ECA International.

Singapore moved up one place within the ECA International rating, overtaking Tokyo to turn out to be the second costliest city in Asia visit on business.

It also ranks nineteenth on this planet.

A business trip to Singapore now costs a mean of $515 a day, up $34 from a yr ago, ECA International reported.

The rising costs in Singapore were attributed to the “early lifting of travel restrictions” in comparison with other locations in Asia, spurring increased demand for travel to the town.

“The resulting increase in demand contributed to the rise in hotel accommodation costs, while costs related to other day by day necessities … were also rising faster than other locations within the region,” Quane said.

Tokyo, which dropped from second to 3rd costliest city in Asia, also saw a 5% increase in day by day costs for business travelers in local currency.

“[However,] these were offset by the depreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar, which led to several cities in Japan dropping on this yr’s rankings,” said Quane.

“With a mean day by day cost of $424 per day [in Tokyo]a business trip to the town is now almost 20% cheaper than Hong Kong, which ranks primary.”

According to ECA International, inflation in lots of places in Asia has contributed to a major increase in business travel costs in local currency.

Sri Lanka, Laos and Pakistan saw the most important increases in travel spending, the report said.

For example, in line with the report, business travel expenses in Colombo, Sri Lanka, were 75% higher in local currency than a yr earlier.

“This was primarily as a consequence of high inflation and currency depreciation, as some business travel costs … are typically paid in US dollars by foreign business travelers.”

But not all destinations in Asia experienced the identical rise in travel costs.

Popular tourist destinations, for instance, saw “relatively little change” in travel spending last yr, ECA International said.

“Cities like Pattaya and Chiang Mai in Thailand, alongside Denpasar in Indonesia, saw modest local currency growth rates in 2022, starting from 1% to three%,” Quane said.

That’s since the lower demand in these locations, in comparison with pre-pandemic levels, has driven hotel prices down.

“Even a tourist hub like Bangkok, which generally hosts many business travelers, saw only a modest 4% increase in business travel costs,” Quane added.

By contrast, Singapore saw a ten% increase in day by day business travel costs in local currency.

For one other yr, New York was given the dubious honor of being the world’s costliest destination for business travelers.

According to the report, the typical day by day cost of a business trip in New York City is currently $796.

Travel costs have “increased strongly” in New York over the past yr due to “post-pandemic growth” in demand for business travel and tourism, Quane said.

He added that together with “inflationary commodity price hikes” commonly consumed by business travelers, travel costs increased by 8%.

Other US cities also dominated the worldwide top 10 list, resembling Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Three European destinations made the list, with Switzerland remaining home to the region’s two costliest cities for business travel.