The Queensland capital is now the country’s ‘bleisure’ epicentre with business travellers spending an average of 5.2 days in Brisbane, taking over from Sydney’s 4.1 days and Melbourne’s 4.6 average days, as the city also attracts high-profile conferences.
Corporate Traveller crunched flight booking data from October 2023 to March 2024 to find Brisbane even outranks the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast for bleisure travel at 4.5 and 4.6 days respectively.
The strong Brisbane economy is a key factor for the uplift with the highest density of innovation hubs per capita and manufacturing exports and growth outpacing the rest of Australia.
Further analysis found business travellers in Queensland’s critical economic sectors of mining, oil and gas made up 17 per cent of bookings during these six months.
This was followed by the construction sector (16%), health care and social assistance (12%), services (10%) and manufacturing (9%), particularly as infrastructure development ramps up to meet the needs of the upcoming 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane.
Corporate Traveller Global Managing Director Tom Walley said the recent data showed business travellers are focused on maximising value and getting the most out of their work trips.
“The business travel sector continues to thrive with more corporate travellers choosing hotels that offer reward programs and extra value, particularly as travel expenses have risen,” he said.
“By making informed choices and booking in advance to secure better rates, our clients are saving thousands on corporate travel that allow them to extend their city stays and contribute more to local economies.”
World-class conference city
In addition, Brisbane is setting the pace globally as an events destination in 2024, hosting high-profile conferences across industries such as technology, energy, education and transport, which are projected to inject more than $94 million into the local economy.
Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) CEO Anthony Ryan said new international airline routes enable more international visitors to the city.
“As one of the largest hospital and healthcare clusters in the Southern Hemisphere and home to more than 100 health and biotech facilities, Brisbane’s world-leading health and life sciences industry and expertise is driving interest from global events in this sector,” he said.
“These visitors fill local hotels, dine at our world-class restaurants and soak up the best of our diverse lifestyle and entertainment precincts, which supports local businesses and jobs.”
