The ‘BCD Travel 2017 Cities & Trends Report’ researches travel patterns of Belux business travelers.
For Belgian business travelers, the number of flights to Spain increased in 2017 compared to 2016 but flights to London dropped. Nevertheless London is still the most frequented European city for business travelers from Belgium & Luxembourg. The United States remain the most important destination for intercontinental business travel but India is on the rise. Also for Luxembourg business travelers, the number of flights to London have dropped; intercontinentally, they travel more often to Canada. These are some results from the annual ‘BCD Travel Cities & Trends Report’.
Belgium: does Brexit have an impact?
London is still the most important destination for Belgian business travelers although the number of flights in 2017 dropped by 12%. This could be the result of Brexit and multiple terrorist attacks in the UK last year. Madrid and Milan, both with a slight increase, remain second and third in line. Bigger changes are visible for the intercontinental top three: New York is still the most important destination, but, like London, dropped by 12%. Dubai went down by 20% from second to fourth place, enabling Singapore and Washington to climb to second and third places respectively.
The Italian economy saw unexpected growth last year, with a correlating increase in the number of flights into the country. This meant that Germany, after a few years in the lead, now takes second place to Italy. Spain climbed to third place and the Czech Republic won back some popularity, closing off the top ten. On an intercontinental level, the US remain in the lead despite a slight decrease. Remarkable are the significant declines of China (-15%) and the United Arab Emirates (-11%), both of which drop down a spot. This could be a result of the oil production limit from the OPEC. Morocco is doing very well with an increase of 10% and South Africa, with a growth of 16%, enters the ranking as a newcomer in eighth place.
Luxembourg: almost 30% less business travelers to Geneva
In the top five European cities, not much is changing for business travelers from Luxembourg, apart from Geneva’s significant drop of almost 30%. Nevertheless it’s still the second most popular city visited from Luxembourg. On an intercontinental level, Cairo is re-entering the top ten. Dubai, second place in 2016, now drops out of the top five.
Although there’s less travel to the United Kingdom, it’s still the most important business travel destination from Luxembourg. Due to the Geneva’s drop, Switzerland is also dropping two places. Greece disappears from the top ten. Portugal (+22%), France (+9%) and especially Poland (+34%) are doing remarkable well.
On an intercontinental level, Israel, India, Egypt and Canada are gaining popularity and climbing the ranking. Morocco, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates are not doing quite as well and are dropping down in the ranking.
Click here for the infographic of the ‘BCD Travel 2017 Cities & Trends Report’ with the complete rankings for the Benelux.
