Most expensive cities for business travellers

Concur, a provider of integrated travel and expense management, processed $50 billion worth of receipts to analyse how businesses are spending money on travel.

Among other things, Concur also analysed the most expensive cities for business travellers.

Though Mumbai and Bangalore featured in the top 25 most visited cities, they are the cheapest for business travel.

Among the top 10 most expensive cities, four are from Australia.

Let's take a look at the most expensive cities for business travellers.

Dubai

Rank: 10

Country: UAE

Dining: $68.36

Entertainment: $165.52

Ground Transport: $24.38

Lodging: $197.67

Total: $455.93

Dubai is also known as the gateway to the East. Many country use it as a hub to export their products to Asian countries.

The city’s major industries include construction, trade and financial services. The city also host various international conventions and business expos.

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Paris

Rank: 9

Country: France

Dining: $49.49

Entertainment: $143.09

Ground Transport: $50.68

Lodging: $220.31

Total: $463.58

Paris is the France’s premier centre for economic activity and is also the wealthiest area of the country.

The city has the highest GDP in the world, after Tokyo and New York making it an engine of the global economy.

If Paris was a country, it would rank as the seventeenth-largest economy in the world, larger than the Turkish and Dutch economies and almost as large as Indonesia's, according to Wikipedia.

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Zurich

Rank: 8

Country: Switzerland

Dining: $52.69

Entertainment: $149.28

Ground Transport: $54.83

Lodging: $217.53

Total: $474.33

Zurich houses most the famous Swiss banks and is as the financial capital of the country. The city is also world’s largest gold trading centre.

Swiss Stock Exchange, which is the fourth most prominent bourse in the world, is also located in Zurich.

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Melbourne

Rank: 7

Country: Australia

Dining: $63.49

Entertainment: $138.25

Ground Transport: $47.48

Lodging: $226.55

Total: $475.78

Melbourne has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in finance, manufacturing, research, IT, education, logistics and transportation and tourism.

It is a major financial centre, has the country’s biggest port, and is also the industrial centre of Australia. Melbourne is headquarters for many of Australia's largest corporations and also for major the country’s major banks.

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Stockholm

Rank: 6

Country: Sweden

Dining: $60.10

Entertainment: $153.31

Ground Transport: $51.86

Lodging: $248.65

Total: $513.92

Major international services company have their office in Stockholm including IBM, Ericsson, and Electrolux.

It is also Sweden’s financial centre and is headquarter of major banks. The company’s stock exchange is also located here.

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London

Rank: 5

Country: UK

Dining: $51.10

Entertainment: $159.27

Ground Transport: $49.51

Lodging: $256.58

Total: $516.46

London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world.

The city is also home to some of the biggest financial institutions including London Stock Exchange and Bank of England. And, 75 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies have offices in London.

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Perth

Rank: 4

Country: Australia

Dining: $60.98

Entertainment: $139.76

Ground Transport: $36.07

Lodging: $284.12

Total: $520.93

Perth is the administrative centre for business and government and dominates the Western Australian economy. It also has major mining, petroleum, and agricultural export industries.

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Sydney

Rank: 3

Country: Australia

Dining: $70.27

Entertainment: $145.69

Ground Transport: $48.00

Lodging: $260.05

Total: $524.01

Sydney is the biggest city in Australia and also the most business centre. The city is the financial and economic hub of Australia and contributes about 25 per cent of the country’s GDP.

The Australian Securities Exchange and the Reserve Bank of Australia are located in Sydney, as are the headquarters of 90 banks and more than half of Australia's top companies, according to Wikipedia.

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Tokyo

Rank: 2

Country: Japan

Dining: $63.19

Entertainment: $254.82

Ground Transport: $35.37

Lodging: $187.52

Total: $540.91

Tokyo is a major international finance centre, houses the headquarters of several of the world's largest investment banks and insurance companies.

It also serves as a hub for Japan's transportation, publishing, and broadcasting industries.

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Brisbane

Rank: 1

Country: Australia

Dining: $57.47

Entertainment: $129.71

Ground Transport: $55.30

Lodging: $305.05

Total: $547.53

Brisbane is one of the major business hubs in Australia and major sectors include information technology and financial services.

Most major Australian companies, as well as numerous international companies, have contact offices in Brisbane, while numerous electronics businesses have distribution hubs in and around the city.

How Indian cities fared

According to Concur, Mumbai and Bangalore were among the top 25 most visited cities but they are also among the three cheapest ones for business travel.

Let’s take a look at the average costs a business traveller incurs in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Mumbai

Country: India

Dining: $22.69

Entertainment: $81.31

Ground Transport: $18.31

Lodging: $116.06

Total: $238.37

Mumbai is the financial capital of India with two of the major bourses located here. Majority of the corporate office of national and international companies are located in Mumbai.

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Bangalore

Country: India

Dining: $26.67

Entertainment: $79.10

Ground Transport: $23.55

Lodging: $98.52

Total: $227.83

Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India. Many international companies have their offices in the city and also many of their vendors are based here.