Business travellers may soon pay less to travel to Hawaii thanks to increased competition between Southwest Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
But a trip to America’s 50th state is likely to be an expensive one, according to the 2019 Cost of Business Travel Report.
The report from relocation company Runzheimer found that Hawaii has the highest business travel costs of any US state, followed by Massachusetts, California, Vermont, Washington, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York.
New York, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose were the most expensive cities for business travel, while Denver and Cleveland were notably cheaper.
The most expensive US business travel destinations can be as high as 55 per cent above the $1,293 average cost of a business trip, according to Runzheimer.
The report, prepared by travel expense management firm Motus, found that business travel costs have increased steadily in recent years and predicts that the trend will continue in 2020.
Airfare is anticipated to increase between 0.5 and 1 per cent, ground transportation is expected to rise 2 per cent, and hotel prices are predicted to jump 2 to 3 per cent, the report said.
The report noted that airfare only accounts for about a third of the cost of a business trip, while 28 per cent goes to lodging, 19 per cent goes to meals, and 18 per cent goes to ground transportation.