Sometimes, people choose to forgo job opportunities if they require them to travel for business – it’s just not some people’s cup of tea. They prefer to stay put for their family.
But business travel has its perks too – it gives you the opportunity to visit cities you may otherwise not been able to see, experience new cultures and food, and it breaks up the monotony of sitting at the same desk, in the same office, every day from 9 to 5.
If business travel suits you and you’re lucky enough to have found a job that allows you to do so, hopefully your employer is footing the bill because it is expensive!
According to BCD Travel research published by Expert Market, last year the average cost of a domestic business trip in the United States was $990, with the average for an international trip coming in at a whopping $2,525.
You may think the U.S. is home to the most expensive cities for business travel. Heck, New York and California are expensive states that are home to many of the country’s largest companies.
However, when London-based MVF Global and its U.S. Expert Market team compiled a list of the world’s most expensive cities for business travelers, U.S. cities failed to even crack the top 20. Only New York and San Francisco cracked the Top 30 – the cost of business travel in New York is $442.59 per day while San Francisco is $444.66.
The most expensive city to visit on business may surprise you – it’s Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela.
In this city, business travelers spend an average of $611 per day. So what makes Caracas so expensive? According to Expert Market, the city’s high cost of living, expensive food, and a high murder rate all contribute to it costing you a pretty penny for business travel.
Sure, dinner in New York City can be expensive. But compare that to a simple McDonald’s Happy Meal running you more than $25 in Caracas – you might not feel so bad about the pricy steak dinner you indulged in while in another city for work.
Following Caracas, the majority of the most expensive world cities for business travel are in Europe. If you travel for work to Geneva, Stockholm, Zurich, London or Paris, it’s going to cost you an average of more than $500 per day.
Oslo, Norway, is also in the top 10 most expensive cities for business travel with an average cost of $497 a day. Hong Kong and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, are also in the top 10.
While San Francisco and New York are the most expensive U.S. cities for business travel, Boston, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, White Plains, Honolulu and Miami are all within the top 40 for most expensive cities for business travel.
Even though U.S. cities aren’t ranked as the most expensive world cities for business travel, the U.S.is still a big player in the global business travel industry – the U.S. spends more on business travel than any other country. According to the report, in 2013, business travel spending topped $247 billion (yes, that’s billion with a ‘b’) in the U.S.!
China is the only country with a figure close to the U.S.’s spending with $225 billion. No other country in the world spent more than $200 billion. And it seems like the U.S. is holding strong onto its business travel spending – it’s projected to top $310 billion this year.
Photo from http://move.bcdtravel.com/most-expensive-cities-for-business-travel/.
