Hong Kong has been named the costliest location in Asia for business travelers — for the second 12 months in a row, in keeping with a latest report.
ECA International’s latest Day by day Rates research ranked countries based on costs for brief trip expenses: four-star hotel rooms, meals, laundry, alcoholic and soft drinks, journeys by taxi and incidental costs.
The research goals to assist organizations anticipate the price of business trips and short-term assignments, the info company said.
A business trip now costs a median of $520 a day in Hong Kong, which can be ranked the sixteenth costliest location for business travel on the planet.
Most costly locations for business travel in Asia
| Destination | Day by day costs |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | $520 |
| Singapore | $515 |
| Tokyo, Japan | $424 |
| Shanghai, China | $392 |
| Seoul, South Korea | $380 |
| Dhaka, Bangladesh | $376 |
| Taipei, Taiwan | $372 |
| Beijing, China | $371 |
| Yokohama, Japan | $350 |
| Hsinchu, Taiwan | $349 |
Source: ECA International
That is despite low demand from business travelers, as Hong Kong closely followed mainland China’s tough zero-Covid policy. It was only in late 2022 that it began to loosen up a few of its restrictions.
“Hotel costs proceed to make up a majority of the general cost of business travel, and regardless of lower occupancy levels in 2022, advertised room rates [in Hong Kong] didn’t fall significantly,” Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, told CNBC.
“This will have been attributable to demand from local residents, while hotel properties can also have needed to keep up their room rates to cover additional costs related to maintaining services in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The report is predicated on information collected in 2022, from 457 locations in over 190 countries, said ECA International.
Singapore beats Tokyo
Singapore moved up one spot in ECA International’s rankings, overtaking Tokyo to turn out to be the second-most expensive city in Asia to go to for business.
It is also ranked nineteenth globally.
A business trip to Singapore now costs a median of $515 per day — $34 dearer than the 12 months before, said ECA International.
It attributed rising costs in Singapore to its “early removal of travel restrictions” compared with other locations in Asia, which sparked an increase in demand for travel to the town.
“The resulting increase in demand contributed to rises in hotel accommodation costs, while costs related to other each day essentials … also increased at a faster rate than other locations within the region,” Quane said.
Tokyo, which dropped from second- to third-most expensive city in Asia, also experienced a 5% rise in each day costs for business travelers in local currency terms.
“[However,] they were offset by the yen’s depreciation against the US dollar, resulting in the decline of several cities across Japan on this 12 months’s rankings,” Quane said.
“With average each day costs of $424 per day [in Tokyo], business travel to the town is now almost 20% cheaper than first-placed Hong Kong.”
Inflation and currency depreciation
Inflation in lots of locations across Asia has contributed to significant increases in business travel costs in local currency terms, said ECA International.
Sri Lanka, Laos and Pakistan saw the biggest increase in expenses for travelers, the report found.
For instance, business travel expenses in Colombo, Sri Lanka were 75% higher in local currency terms than a 12 months before, in keeping with the report.
“This primarily stemmed from high inflation and currency depreciation, since some costs related to business travel … are typically incurred in US dollars by foreign business travelers here.”
But not all Asian destinations experienced the identical surge in travel costs.
Popular tourist destinations, for instance, saw “relatively little change” in travel expenses last 12 months, said ECA International.
“Cities like Pattaya and Chiang Mai in Thailand, alongside Denpasar in Indonesia, all witnessed small rates of growth in local currency terms in 2022, ranging between 1% and three%,” Quane said.
That is because lower demand in those destinations — compared with pre-pandemic levels — have suppressed hotel rates.
“Even a tourist hub like Bangkok, which generally receives many business travelers, only saw a moderate 4% increase in business travel costs,” Quane added.
Singapore, in contrast, saw a ten% rise in each day costs of business travel in local currency terms.
World’s costliest place
For yet one more 12 months, Latest York received the dubious honor of being the costliest place on the planet for business travelers.
The common each day cost of a business trip in Latest York is now $796, in keeping with the report.
Most costly locations for business travel globally
| Destination | Day by day costs |
|---|---|
| Latest York, U.S. | $796 |
| Geneva, Switzerland | $700 |
| Washington DC, U.S. | $658 |
| Zurich, Switzerland | $641 |
| San Francisco, U.S. | $609 |
| Tel Aviv, Israel | $595 |
| Los Angeles, U.S. | $584 |
| London, U.K. | $583 |
| Luanda, Angola | $564 |
| Paris, France | $557 |
Source: ECA International
Travel costs have “rebounded strongly” in Latest York over the past 12 months, due to a “post-pandemic surge” in demand for business travel and tourism, said Quane.
Together with “inflation-driven price hikes on goods” commonly consumed by business travelers, travel costs grew by a stark 8%, he added.
Other cities within the U.S. also dominated the worldwide top 10 list, akin to Washington D.C., 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.
