Singapore 3rd most expensive in Asia for business travel in 2017

Singapore

SINGAPORE emerged in joint third position with Seoul in a ranking of the most expensive Asian locations for business travel last year, going by research published by data company ECA International on Tuesday.

Lee Quane, Asia regional director at ECA International, said the latest ranking reflected the increasing average cost of a business trip to Singapore.

In 2016, the average cost of a business trip to Singapore was US$472 a day; in 2017, it had risen to US$479.

The Republic had been in fourth place in 2016, and the South Korean capital, third.

Mr Quane said: "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 travellers in the city over the past year."

Business travellers in Singapore generally stay in four-star hotels and dine in relatively pricey restaurants in areas such as Raffles Place, Orchard Road and those of similar quality in their hotels.

In ECA International's computation, the average cost of a business trip includes the cost of hotel accommodation, meals, drinks, laundry, taxi transport and daily essentials.

New York retained its top position as the most expensive location for global business travel in the survey.

In 2017, an average business trip to the Big Apple cost US$793 per day.

Among Asian cities, Hong Kong overtook Tokyo for the top spot, with the Japanese capital dropping to second place.

The average cost for a business trip to Hong Kong was US$508, compared with US$501 in Tokyo.

Mr Quane said: "Although Hong Kong has overtaken Tokyo in the rankings, this change is mostly due to the overall price of business travel in Japan decreasing in dollar terms after the yen fell in value over the course of 2017."

He also noted that the average cost of business travel to Hong Kong has remained stable at US$508 per day since 2016.

Meanwhile, Asian cities such as Bangkok and Shanghai became more expensive for the business traveller.

In the 2017 rankings, Bangkok made its debut among the top 50, with an average business trip costing US$278 per day.

Shanghai took the ninth spot on the list for most expensive location for business travel in the region.

Malaysian cities Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru continued to occupy the bottom of the rankings, with the country being the cheapest region for international business travel.

"The continued weakness of the Malaysian ringgit against major currencies has ensured that the cost of business travel in Malaysia is cheaper than elsewhere in Asia," said Mr Quane.