Business takes a shine to Brisbane as ‘bleisure travel’ takes off
Brisbane has suddenly become a destination of choice for international small and medium-sized enterprises travelling to Australia, with new data revealing more than 24 per cent of bookings into Australia were heading to Queensland, according to the Flight Centre-owned Corporate Traveller.
Brisbane has become a magnet for business travel
The company said there were several factors that had created the increase, which had started as far back as the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.
Corporate Traveller managing director Tom Walley said the increase had coincided with what he termed “bleisure travel”.
The company’s data showed Sydney was the number one arrivals point between January 01 and September 30, 2022, but this year Brisbane has jumped to the top of the list, with a 3.8 per cent margin over Sydney.
Melbourne remained in third place in both years and made up the traditional golden triangle, a term used to describe the heavy air traffic between the three capitals.
“In terms of industries travelling to the Sunshine State capital, manufacturing led the way, followed by services, construction, mining/oil/gas, and education,” Corporate Traveller said.
Walley said Brisbane has been firmly placed on the map as one of the best places in the world for SMEs to do business.
“Ever since the Commonwealth Games visited the Gold Coast, investment in Brisbane has taken off exponentially, with more and more major domestic and international businesses choosing to move their operations and HQs to the Sunshine State capital,” Walley said.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time for Brisbane with the city hosting the Games in 2032, the Queen’s Wharf development not too far away from completion and multiple bridges under construction that’ll boost connectivity across the city, it’s an exciting time on various fronts.
“Even more impressive is the huge year-on-year increase in travel to Brisbane by SMEs, with a jump of over 95 per cent, and that’s no coincidence that this has coincided with the rise of the ‘bleisure’ traveller who clearly wants to take advantage of all that Queensland has to offer while visiting.”
Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff says this latest data is good news for Queensland.
“This is clear evidence that companies globally are viewing Brisbane as a great place to do business, and a wonderful destination to visit,” Mr de Graaff said.
“Travel time from Asia, North America, and South Pacific is shorter to Brisbane than Melbourne and Sydney. And with Australia’s most connected domestic network, it’s easier for people from across the country to gather in Brisbane to meet overseas clients.”
