Once again, New York City has been revealed as the most expensive destination in the world to do business, according to a report from management consultant ECA International, with a typical trip costing $869 a day. The findings are based on the average cost of expenses such as hotel accommodation, meals, drinks, laundry, taxis and daily essentials required by people traveling there for work.

Simon Franklin, daily rates manager at ECA International, says: “The high demand for hotels in New York is reflected in the premium rate that rooms are currently charged at; averaging $557 per night at a four-star hotel. The high cost of hotels and transport, as well as mandatory 15-20 per cent tipping policies during meals out, contribute to the US city being the most expensive in the world for business travel.”

In second place is Geneva, with the total cost of a standard business trip $789 a day, compared to $637 in London, which didn’t even rank in the world’s top ten – it is only the sixth-most expensive business city in Europe, having been overtaken by Monaco, Basel and Paris. That said, hotels remain expensive in the English capital, with rates for a four-stay stay averaging $474 a night.

Simon Franklin, daily rates manager at ECA International, says: “Swiss cities once again dominate the most expensive places for business trips in Europe. Switzerland has always been an expensive nation for business travel and this year is no different as the Swiss franc has performed very strongly.”

Franklin adds: “Whilst the price of business travel to London has remained relatively static over the past few years, the strong performance of the euro in the past year has seen costs in other cities such as Paris and Monaco overtake the UK capital. The cost of business travel in the UK overall has continued to fall, with every surveyed UK location seeing a drop in the table.

“Aberdeen especially illustrates the sudden drop in cost for business travel to the UK, falling from 13th to 39th in the European rankings in just two years. This has been exacerbated by the recent downturn in the oil and gas industry which has led to a reduction in demand for business travel to the area, as well as having an impact on the local economy.”

The Ten Most Expensive Cities In The World For Business Travel In 2018

1. New York City, USA

3. Zurich, Switzerland

4. Luanda, Angola

5. Bridgetown, Barbados

7. Nassau, Bahamas

8. Washington DC, USA

9. Basel, Switzerland

10. Monaco