Big business travel in Australia has taken off by just over 41% year-on-year for the first 11 months of 2023 with multiple industries upping their bookings, according to FCM, Flight Centre Travel Group’s flagship large market corporate division.

New data from the Group reveals that while Mining/Oil/Gas, and Government/NFP lead the charge for the most bookings, with a 46% and 63% increase respectively, education-related travel rose to fifth position with 104% growth in travel in 2023 to date, on the year previous.

Sydney retained the top spot as the number one destination, followed by Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Port Headland and Adelaide domestically for Australia-based travellers – with Port Moresby the most booked of international destinations, above Auckland, Singapore, London, and Sydney.

“We’re beyond saying that travel is simply ‘back’ now, with business travel surviving, and now clearly thriving with multiple industries dramatically increasing their booking numbers versus the same nine months last year,” said Global FCM COO/Flight Centre Corporate MD for ANZ Melissa Elf (pictured).

“What we can see from our new data is there’s no part of Australia that’s untouched by the need or requirement of business travel. Whether it be a mining site in WA, an event or conference in Sydney, education in Melbourne, or the need to visit a construction site in Queensland – the appetite for travel is unquestionably there.

“These figures really cement the fact that Australia is a destination of choice when it comes to the education industry – and it’s clear that the desire to come to our shores has only got stronger.

“It’s no coincidence that the uplift in numbers has coincided with the returning capacity from the Chinese carriers. We’ve long been advocates of more airlines, to more destinations, offering more choice – this is a good example of the positive impact it has when this comes to fruition.

“Corporate travel is on the right trajectory, as evidenced by the Global Business Travel Association’s recent 2023 Business Travel Index™ Outlook, noting that global business travel spend is expected to surpass its pre-pandemic spending level of US$1.4 trillion in 2024.

“For economies to survive, recover, and thrive – big business must continue to travel for meetings, events, and conferences to retain staff, recruit the best talent, and win new contracts – these are just some of the factors as to why business travel has gone beyond just a ‘bounceback’.

“That’s supported by the fact we recently announced our Meetings & Events business will be globally expanding… The other interesting stat is the number of days in advance companies are booking has increased year-on-year – a sure sign that not only has confidence to travel has returned, but savvy businesses are now happy to book further out to secure a better deal, through our expert travel managers.”