The Sunshine State continues to be a beacon of light for small to medium enterprise business travel in Australia with latest figures showing that bookings in and out of Brisbane have risen by seven per cent year on year over the last six months (01 December 2023 to 31 May 2024).
The fresh data, derived from Flight Centre Travel Group’s flagship SME division of Corporate Traveller, also showed a five per cent rise in the number of people travelling in the same period and comes as Queensland ends its latest round of Small Business Month 2024.
The top five industries travelled were Construction (17%) – which saw a huge jump of 22.5 per cent year on year – Health Care and Social Assistance (16%), Services (11%), Government/NFP (9%), and Manufacturing (8.5%) – with manufacturing leaping into the top five versus the same time period.
“Queensland is home to more than 482,000 small businesses – 97 per cent of all businesses – that contribute around $117 billion to the state economy each year*,” said Tom Walley, Australia-Based Global Managing Director, Corporate Traveller.
“We’ve long touted Brisbane as a destination of choice for business travellers, but this new data tells us that homegrown companies are looking further afield to either reconnect with staff overseas, to attend meetings, events, and conference, or making the journey abroad in an attempt to grow.
“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.
“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.
“The missing piece is getting back to, or beyond, 100 per cent of 2019 international capacity out of Brisbane. The airport has done a wonderful job in selling the state capital to the U.S. and beyond – but we’re still constrained when it comes to flights through the Middle East and Asia to Europe.
“Once that happens, and we’re getting there with Emirates increasing their capacity to Dubai and China Eastern Airlines returning, customers will enjoy further drops in airfare pricing thanks to the competition that multiple airline options create.”
Executive General Manager of Aviation at Brisbane Airport Ryan Both noted there were standout performers in the return of international passenger numbers.
“Travel between Japan and Brisbane has leapt out of the box. Japan has risen to be the number five inbound market, and number three outbound, with 18 flights per week compared to the seven pre-COVID,” he said.
“Other routes with international arrivals above pre-pandemic levels include India, Canada, Fiji, South Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, and Samoa. By the end of the year, North America will be at 130 per cent of pre-COVID capacity when our new carriers come on board.”
*https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/advice-support/support/small-business/qsbm
