Data analysed by business travel platform TravelPerk reveals that Venice, Brighton and Hamburg are emerging as hubs for corporate travel, outpacing cities such as London in growth over the last two months.
According to the data, Brighton saw a 53 per cent increase in business trips, compared to a 14 per cent rise in London. The seaside city was joined as one of the fastest-growing hotspots by Hamburg (43 per cent), Munich (22 per cent) and Frankfurt (10 per cent) – a stark contrast to the 7 per cent decrease in visits to Berlin in the same period.
Budapest saw one of the biggest increases at 63 per cent, along with Nantes at 39 per cent, while Venice remained one of the cities steadily gaining a greater share of spend from the business travel budget at 7 per cent.
TravelPerk says its data shows the average business traveller will spend 20 days away from home over the space of five trips a year, but many are on the road for longer – some taking as many as 96 trips a year.
The company puts this upward trend for business travel partly down to the availability of cheaper air fare options, with 82 per cent of flights booked in Europe through the platform in 2018 utilising low-cost tickets.
In addition, TravelPerk noticed an increase in bleisure trips, with 18 per cent of all journeys booked through the site running across a weekend. Demand for self-service accommodation is also growing – the use of serviced apartments and private homes increased by 71 per cent in the first two months of 2019.
Avi Meir, CEO and co-founder of TravelPerk, commented: “Gone are the days when business was conducted exclusively in capital cities, and it’s fascinating to see just how quickly emerging new business hubs are making their mark on the map.
“Overall, business travel continues to grow despite technology and the internet making the world smaller than ever, proving companies remain focused on the value of facilitating in-person meetings for international colleagues even as workforces become more dispersed. As increasing numbers of us travel more frequently for business, we expect to see a continued trend towards booking motivated by convenience and experience. Greater numbers of travellers will choose low-cost fares, boutique accommodation and travel options that allow them to combine business and leisure travel in one trip.”
The top 10 destinations for business travellers using TravelPerk in 2018 were:
- London
- Berlin
- Madrid
- Paris
- Amsterdam
- New York
- Munich
- Dublin
- Milan
- Hamburg
travelperk.com