Mon, Apr 13, 2015 Top 10 Most Expensive Cities for Business Travel

If your business traveling employees came to you with a bill for $611 per day for each day they were away, you’d probably tell them to go fly a kite. But such daily expenses would be right on target if they had been on a business trip in .... 

Caracas, Venezuela. That's right, Venezuela’s capital ranks as the most expensive city for corporate travel, according to a report from Expert Market, far outranking the typical domestic or international trip. Domestic trips to US cities cost the average traveler $990 in 2014, with international trips weighing in at $2,525. 

But Expert Market dug deeper than the average, reviewing the daily cost of travel throughout 79 different cities across the globe. The top 10 list consists of: 

1. Caracas, Venezuela, at $611 per day
2. Geneva, Switzerland, at $547 per day
3. Stockholm, Sweden, at $528 per day
4. Stavanger, Norway, at $524 per day
5. Hong Kong, China, at $523 per day
6. Zurich, Switzerland, at $509 per day
7. London, England, at $508 per day
8. Paris, France, at $502 per day
9. Oslo, Norway, at $497 per day
10. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at $495 per day

The High Cost of Business Travel 

The top eight locations, which cost the traveler upwards of $500 per day, are well-known for their elite hotels and high-end restaurants. And they blow even the sophisticated options in the US right out of the water. 

In fact, none of the US cities made it into the top 20. The most expensive US business travel destination was San Francisco, ranking 23^rd at $444 per day. New York ranked right behind it, with a daily cost of $442. The cheapest city on the business travel list was Guatemala City, costing a daily average of $209. 

Even though no US cities made it to the top of the list for costs, the US is known for spending more on business travel than any other nation across the globe. US-based companies shelled out $274 billion for business travel in 2013, with predictions for 2015 pegging the cost at $310 billion. 

The High Cost of Caracas Travel 

The poor state of Venezuela’s economy has a heavy impact on the cost of travel. Venezuela relies on oil for 95 percent of its earnings from exports, and oil’s low prices have been driving up inflation. Other factors include the cost of staying in a high-security hotel and the high cost of practically everything, from a $5.14 liter of milk to a $25.50 meal at McDonald’s. 

Ensure your own employees’ travel spending is under control with business travel expense analytics from Chrome River EXPENSE.