Travelling for work is not as easy as it seems. From making hotel reservations to buying flight tickets, business travel isn’t always economical. Cost reduction has always been a priority but at times the expense associated with last minute travel can add up quickly.

If you’ll be traveling to Hong Kong for your next business trip, you might want to change your plan after reading the recent Daily Rates’ research by the HR consultancy, ECA International.

“For the second consecutive year, Hong Kong has been ranked the most expensive location in Asia for business travel. The average business trip to Hong Kong would cost an overall total of US$ 515 per day, including hotel costs of $286,” the report states.

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 transport and daily essentials. This information is used by companies to determine daily expense allowances for staff who undertake business travel.

“Hong Kong has always been one of the most expensive Asian locations to visit on business, due to the combination of a high cost of goods and services, and expensive hotel prices,” said Lee Quane, Regional Director – Asia, ECA International.

Quane, in recent years, has also seen Hong Kong pull away slightly from other expensive locations such as Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore, and this year has been no different with Hong Kong now costing 4 per cent more than Tokyo and 8 per cent more than Seoul in second and third places respectively.

Decoding the Asian Market

The report adds, “Tokyo remains second in the Asia rankings, with the typical business trip now costing $494 a day. Seoul is in third place based on the overall price of a business trip. However, if hotel costs are excluded, then the Korean capital moves above Tokyo into second place.”

Quane believes, the fact that Seoul moves to second in the rankings when hotel costs are excluded, shows that the price of food, drinks, and other incidentals that make up the overall cost of a trip is actually higher in Seoul than Tokyo.

“This is a trend we see in many locations, where the hotel cost can inflate the overall figure, and it demonstrates the importance of looking at all aspects of a business trip, and not necessarily just the combined cost,” added Quane.

Singapore Popularity Still Sky-high

A typical business trip to Singapore is now $468, making it the fourth most expensive location in Asia for business travel.

“The cost of a business trip to Singapore has stayed relatively static due to the steady level of international business travel to the country. However, the price of a hotel room has dropped slightly, down to $249 per night from $256 last year. Despite this small decrease in the average price, the demand has stayed at about the same level and Singapore continues to be popular for international business, illustrated by the fact that Singapore remains in the top five most expensive Asian locations,” shared Quane.