Hong Kong beats Tokyo as priciest business trip location in Asia

Expenses cost $3,971 per day (US$508).

Hong Kong has outpaced Tokyo as it clinched the top spot in the priciest locations for business travel in Asia, according to a report from ECA International.

Expenses for just a day remained unchanged at an average of $3,971 (US$508) which takes into account accommodation, meals, drinks, laundry, alcohol, daily essentials and taxi transport.

“Although Hong Kong has overtaken Tokyo in the rankings, this change is mostly due to the overall price of business travel in Japan decreasing in Dollar terms after the Yen fell in value over the course of 2017,” said Lee Quane, Regional Director - Asia for ECA International.

Daily expenses at Tokyo cost US$501 at an average. Singapore and Seoul follow in at third and fourth place respectively for US$479 worth of business expenses in a day. Busan in South Korea completes the top five at US$435.

Other Japanese cities like Yokohama and Kobe also made it to the top ten with expenses averaging US$423 and US$415 respectively. Dhaka from Bangladesh, Shanghai and Macau complete the top 10 at US$417, US$394 and US$388 respectively.

The cheapest regions for international business travel continues to be Malaysia, with Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru remaining at the bottom of the pack amidst the sustained weakness of the Malaysian Ringgit against major currencies.

“Although fellow ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Cambodia have cities which rank amongst the cheapest in the region for business travel, the cost of business travel remains low in Malaysia. The cost of a business trip to Kuala Lumpur is less than half of what it is in Hong Kong,” Quane added.