New York City was named the leading destination for global business travel for the fourth consecutive year in 2018, while Shanghai has advanced to the fourth spot behind traditional destinations London and Paris, spotlighting China’s growing economic clout. The annual rankings from Egencia noted that Shanghai was among four Asian cities in the top 10 business travel destinations, including Singapore (6th), Hong Kong (8th), and Tokyo (9th). Rounding out the top 10 were Toronto (5th), San Francisco (7th), and Chicago (10th). Other cities in the top 20 destinations were Dubai, Mexico City, Boston, Montreal, Beijing, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Sao Paolo, Casablanca, and Seoul.
“While US and European cities retain the top three spots, the most interesting takeaway is how global business travel has truly become, with five of seven continents represented in the top 20 destinations,” said Andrew Dyer, vice president of global supply at Egencia.
The Egencia rankings are based upon flight demand data. The company noted that total business travel flight bookings increased 110% worldwide between the beginning of 2014 and the end of 2018, including a 120% increase in flights to and from New York.
Source: Business Traveller