The cheapest region for international business travel continues to be Malaysia with Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru remaining at the bottom of the rankings according to the latest findings by Daily Rates research published by ECA International,.
Lee Quanne, regional director Asia for ECA International says , “Although fellow ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Cambodia have cities which rank among the cheapest in the region for business travel, the cost of business travel remains low in Malaysia. A business trip to Kuala Lumpur costs less than half of what it is in Hong Kong.”
Meanwhile, Singapore now ranks joint third with Seoul for most expensive Asian location for business travel with an average cost of a business trip to Singapore increased to USD 478 per day, compared to USD 472 in 2016. Quanne says that although the increase was small, the rise in business travel costs in Singapore reflects a growing trend. She says, “hotel costs have risen slightly in the past 12 months, but the main reason for Singapore’s rise has been the increased cost of eating out in restaurants frequented by business travelers in the city over the past year.”
Although Singapore in one of Asia’s most expensive location for business travel, it ranks outside the top 40 locations globally. Chinese cities on the hand have seen an increase in cost for a standard business trip. Hong Kong is the most expansive location for business travelers. Tokyo drops to second place in the rankings.
Updated annually, ECA’s Daily Rates reports provide average costs for hotel accommodation which makes up the bulk of any daily allowance.
