BCD Travel has analysed its flight and car rental data for several European markets for the Cities & Trends Report 2023. The top 10 destinations for business travellers in Europe last year were concentrated in Northern and Western Europe. Amsterdam was followed by London at the top. In third and fourth place were two classic German business traveller cities: Frankfurt and Munich. Paris followed in second place. The remaining places were taken by Copenhagen, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Stockholm in 10th place.
A look at the countries shows that Germany was also the most popular destination for European business travellers in 2023, following a certain tradition. The UK, the Netherlands, France and Italy came in next.
BCD Travel sees the reason for the recovery, particularly in Northern and Western Europe, in the high number of face-to-face meetings and events taking place again and the return of capacity, mainly in the flight sector. The rest of Europe has recovered more slowly, which is partly due to the war in Ukraine.
China not yet back
Outside of Europe, the USA was the most popular destination for business trips. The other top five countries included the United Arab Emirates, India, China and Canada. In terms of non-European cities, it was again New York, Chicago and Dubai. Overall, the USA has seven cities in the top 10 most visited destinations by European business travellers. Singapore came in ninth place. Shanghai slipped from second to 10th place. Beijing has now dropped out of the top 10 as one of the most visited intercontinental business travel cities for Europeans.
‘While business travel is recovering worldwide, China is returning to normality rather slowly,’ explains Jonathan Kao, Managing Director North Asia at BCD. However, the recently approved visa exemptions for travellers from certain European countries and the overall relaxation of visa procedures give cause for optimism, he says, and expects a significant increase in business trips to China this year.
The return of the markets remains uncertain
‘Geopolitics and rising crime, new sustainability laws and mobile working continue to impact the volume of business travel and where travel budgets are going,’ says Michèle Lawley, President of Europe at BCD. ‘Flight capacity that was once sufficient can become scarce. A previously safe destination may have become dangerous for travellers.’ BCD Travel states that business travel spend in Europe last year reached 96 per cent of the 2019 level. However, the figure varies by country and region.