TORONTO — In its most recent report, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) revealed new data on the most frequently visited destinations for Canadian business travellers. Overall, developed urban metropolises continue to top the list.
The findings are based on booking details of outgoing trips — domestic, U.S. and international — by GBT members between July 2015 and June 2016. For business customers travelling outside of Canada, New York and London remain the highest visited locations, year-over-year, due to the two cities being home to numerous company headquarters, conferences and conventions, reliable transportation and international airports.
Toronto continues to be the top destination for travel within the country, while Alberta saw a significant decrease in business travellers — Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray, while still on the top 10 list, had much less activity compared to historical figures, with Fort McMurray exhibiting a decrease of 56.4 per cent. Calgary dropped to third position, losing ground to Montreal.
GBT’s findings also revealed how Canadian travellers are booking their stays. Online bookings grew to 59 per cent compared to phone bookings, which marks a 19.5 per cent increase over last year. An astonishing 80 per cent of the travellers who booked online, did not require assistance from a travel counsellor, indicating that business customers are becoming more comfortable with booking online.
“The data shows that many Canadian business travellers are going further than ever, a clear indication of the enduring value of business travel,” says Jacinthe Ladouceur, VP and GM of American Express Global Business Travel Canada. “Understanding that today’s road warriors are more technologically savvy than ever before, GBT’s commitment to offering our customers personalized and convenient solutions that deliver seamless business travel experiences continues to be of utmost importance.”
Top 10 domestic travel destinations:
- Toronto
- Montreal
- Calgary
- Vancouver
- Ottawa
- Winnipeg
- Edmonton
- Halifax
- Fort McMurray, Alta.
- Regina, Sask.
Top 10 U.S. travel destinations:
- New York, N.Y.
- Chicago, Ill.
- Newark, N.J.
- Boston, Mass.
- San Fransisco, Calif.
- Las Vegas, Nev.
- Dallas, Texas
- Orlando, Fla.
- Atlanta, Ga.
- Los Angeles, Calif.
Top 10 international travel destinations outside North America:
- London, England
- Paris, France
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Singapore, Singapore,
- Seoul, South Korea
- Shanghai, China
- Beijing, China
