Global events are once more returning to the corporate calendar.

After a few years of turbulent travel experiences the world’s largest business conferences have returned once more, and with business owners prioritising convenience and accessibility more-so than ever, your corporate travel destination has never been more important.

Every corporate event is different with different attendees and requirements, but if you’re considering hosting a corporate event in 2024 or beyond, here are our top considerations when choosing a corporate travel destination.

Factors To Consider When Choosing A Corporate Travel Destination

When first beginning to plan a major corporate event, the most important factor to consider is the destination country or city.

Ensuring your destination city or country is suitable for your event is critical to its success, and you’ll want to ensure the space is central and has the infrastructure you need – Consider:

• The suitability of venues in your travel destination and whether they can comfortably hold the expected number of attendees.
• The proximity of major international airports in relation to your chosen venue.
• Nearby accommodation and transportation options for those travelling to get to the event.

International attendees will be more likely to attend if your corporate travel destination is in a relatively central location globally, with fewer visa restrictions and straight-forward transportation options to ensure the entire trip is as stress-free as possible.

You’ll also want to consider the overall business environment of any destination you’re considering – Does the destination have a strong economy, are there a range of suitable restaurants and venues around for patrons to visit and outside of event hours, is the destination safe?

Corporate cultures differ around the world, and you’ll want to do your research to ensure you’re respecting those practices. When hosting an event on a global stage you’ll inevitably bring together a melting pot of different cultures, so it’s important you find a space where you can more easily do this.

Top Business-Friendly Cities Around The World

Not every city and country is created equal, and a big part of the success of major events such as SXSW, The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and TechCrunch Disrupt are the cities that they’re hosted in.

When choosing a corporate travel destination, it’s critical you choose a city that’s business-friendly. While your attendees are visiting they’re also likely to be networking and conducting their own business meetings, so it’s important you ensure your attendees can get the most out of their visit possible.

Some common business-friendly cities around the world (and spaces where other major business conferences are held) are:

• Dubai, UAE
• Texas, USA
• Davos, Switzerland
• Paris, France
• Tokyo, Japan

Each city will come with its own unique infrastructure, and each event with its own requirements and challenges in order to ensure the event is a success. If you’re considering destinations for your next event and want to discuss the logistics in more depth, our experienced Corporate Travel team can help.

Conferences and Meetings: Destinations for Corporate Events

Once you’ve picked your ideal destination, it’s time to pick the facilities.

When hosting a major business event, there are a few things you’ll want to consider – The venue capacity, its parking and transport options, what venue restrictions you may have to deal with and its vicinity to the airport and hotels where your attendees are likely to be staying.

While many of the more business-friendly cities around the world are already set up with the infrastructure to host global events, there are a few venues more suited than others for unforgettable corporate events:

The Dubai World Trade Centre

Located right in the centre of Dubai and just a short drive from Dubai International Airport, the Dubai World Trade Centre is the choice venue for dozens of global corporate conferences annually. Featuring over 106,000m2 of events space and room for approximately 34,000 people, alongside both venue hire and full event management services, the World Trade Centre can support you in both pre- and post-event services to ensure your conference is a success.

Hannover Exhibition Centre

Currently leading the charge as the largest exhibition centre in the world, few places are better for hosting major corporate events than the Hannover Exhibition Centre in Germany. Covering just shy of 500,000m2 with 58,000m2 of open-air space and 24 halls and pavilions, the Hannover Exhibition Centre is home to the largest events in the world. Also boasting its own railway stop and private Helipad for convenient air transport between the Convention Centre and the airport, the venue offers plenty of infrastructure to ensure all attendees can enjoy their time there.

Shanghai National Exhibition & Convention Centre

The Shanghai National Exhibition & Convention Centre is one of the world’s more modern major convention centres, offering all of the amenities and infrastructure you’ll need for your next event. As the third largest exhibition centre in the world, the Convention Centre offers roughly 400,000m2 of indoor space, as well as transport amenities to and from the nearby Shanghai Airport for ease of access.

Ensuring Safety and Security During Corporate Travel

Since Covid-19 shook the travel industry, safety and security have been a top priority for those travelling overseas – and even just interstate.

Every corporation that has staff travel on their behalf has a ‘duty of care’, and if you’re looking to plan an event, this is no different. While a duty of care policy should now be included in any company’s general travel policy, if you haven’t updated your travel policy in a while, you may need to add it in. There are several benefits to an updated travel policy – Here are a few reasons to update it before your next event:

• You can ensure your staff are crystal clear on what should happen if they become unwell in a Post-CoVid world.
• You may be able to save on Travel Insurance costs by evaluating if your current provider is the most effective for you.
• You can resolve any employee feedback regarding your existing policy and shore up any gaps.

Having a Corporate Travel Policy is critical for any business, and with the world changing regularly it’s recommended to evaluate your own policy regularly to ensure no gaps or issues arise. If you’re not sure about what to include in your Corporate Travel Policy or you need it updated, our team can help.

Visa and Entry Requirements For Corporate Travellers

The final thing you’ll want to consider when choosing a corporate travel destination is the Visa and Entry requirements of your chosen country.

No two countries are the same with their requirements, and some are certainly more stringent than others – Your staff or attendees may be required to pay large amounts for a Visa, list an extensive travel history, fill out detailed health records or other paperwork to get into the country. Depending on the country, you or your staff may also be required to get certain vaccinations or be restricted to how long they can stay for.

Some of the hardest countries in the world to visit currently are Russia, Cuba, Iran, Turkmenistan and Chad, so we would typically recommend avoiding these countries as your corporate travel destination.

Popular countries such as Dubai, Singapore, the USA or the UK are all fairly straightforward countries to enter for most travellers, and will provide the best solution for a corporate travel destination where travellers won’t run into a swathe of issues.

Here at Pulse Travel we have over 20 years’ experience in the travel industry, supporting both Businesses an individual travellers in their travel needs. If you’re looking to plan a Corporate Event and want support arranging staff travel and accommodation, get in touch with our Travel Team today.