Have Aussies replaced the ‘city that never sleeps’; the Big Apple; Frank Sinatra’s promising ‘New York, New York’ with San Francisco?
It’s hard to believe but those new Qantas services to the Bay City may be doing more than just giving Australians a third gateway into the United States.
According to a new study by American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), San Francisco appears to have replaced New York as the top US business destination for Australians.
Strong links between Australia’s technology sector and Silicon Valley and improved air connectivity have been attributed for driving the increase in business travel to San Francisco, with the destination now sitting at number eight in the top 10 international destinations for Aussie MICE, one position ahead of the New York.
The US remained one of the most popular countries for business travel from Australia, while Singapore dominated the number one spot in the top 10 cities, ahead of Auckland and Hong Kong.
“While we haven’t seen movement across our top three international destinations for Australian business travellers, we have noticed a decline in business travel to China over the past twelve months.”
Jo Sully, American Express GBT Vice President and General Manager
“Shanghai has fallen from sixth to tenth in the overall international rankings, and Beijing has dropped off the rankings entirely.”
While the study may suggest a decline in business travel to New York, the city’s tourism leaders are expecting record arrivals this year, with predictions of 59.7 million visitors in 2016.
Around 47 million of arrivals will be domestic visitors, while 12.7 million will touch down from overseas.
In order to reach those record numbers, NYC & Company recruited the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the newest Official NYC Family Ambassadors.
