ECA International Daily Rates research found Singapore to be the second most expensive location in Asia for business travel this year after Hong Kong while the third is Tokyo, followed by Shanghai, Seoul, Dhaka, Taipei, Beijing, Yokohama, and Hsinchu.
An average trip to Singappore costs US$515 per day (US$1=RM4.47), an increase of US$34 from a year before, according to ECA International.
The average daily cost for travellers to Kuala Lumpur is now US$218, placing it at 36th spot in Asia.
“Singapore overtook Tokyo in 2022 to become the second-most expensive city in Asia to visit for business,” ECA International regional director of Asia, Lee Quane, said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said business travel to the city picked up earlier than most other locations in the region with the government’s comprehensive lifting of travel restrictions.
“The resulting increase in demand contributed to rises in hotel accommodation costs, while costs associated with other daily essentials consumed by business travellers also increased at a faster rate than other locations in the region.
“Together, these propelled Singapore to second place in Asia and 19th worldwide,” said Quane.
Updated annually, ECA’s Daily Rates reports provide average costs for hotel accommodation, which makes up the bulk of any daily allowance, as well as meals, drinks, laundry, taxi costs, and daily essentials.
While daily costs of business travel to Singapore increased by 10 per cent in local currency terms, the research found that “this rate of growth was not as high as seen in some locations in the region.”
