Auckland was the number one international business travel destination in 2022, according to the latest data from Flight Centre Corporate’s division.
Auckland was a clear favourite for business travellers as restrictions were wound back and flight capacity increased, with Singapore and London rounding out the top three most travelled destinations for business.
Tom Walley, global managing director at Corporate Traveller, said the relationship between Australia and New Zealand was critical for both trade and business growth.
“Australia’s bilateral trade and economic relationship with New Zealand is one of the broadest and most diverse in the world – it’s vitally important to have a busy airbridge across the Tasman for businesses large and small to thrive on both sides,” he said.
“Investment between New Zealand and Australia was almost NZ$197 billion as at December 2019 – with Australia being the biggest services trade partner for the Kiwis.
“Optics are increasingly returning to normal in the world of business travel and the fact Auckland remained the clear number one international destination for Australian corporates in 2022, as it was back in 2019, is more evidence of that sense of normality.
“The one major change we saw from 2019 versus 2022 was London jumping into the top three international destinations last year, up from fourth spot, as business travellers were unafraid to venture to Europe’s economic epicentre for meetings, events, business growth, and trade.”
Closer to home, domestic business travel was once again dominated by Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, unchanged for 2022 versus 2019.
“The Golden Triangle continues to be the beating heart of corporate travel within Australia and the epicentre of business activity, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon,” Walley said.
