TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei is ranked as the seventh most expensive city in Asia and Hsinchu made its first appearance in the top 10, in the annual report on expenses faced by business travelers released earlier this week by consulting firm Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA).

The most expensive city in Asia in the 2023 rankings was Hong Kong, followed by Singapore and Tokyo, according to ECA.

Despite recent political unrest and the impact of COVID, Hong Kong has retained its position as a crucial hub for business and the most expensive city for business travelers in Asia. ECA reported the average business trip to Hong Kong costs about US$520 (NT$15,800) each day, making it the 16th most expensive city on ECA’s global index.

This year, Singapore edged out Tokyo for the No. 2 spot in the rankings. Daily costs for business travelers in Singapore are only slightly lower than Hong Kong’s at US$515 per day, over Tokyo’s US$424 dollars.

As for Taiwan, its comparatively stable economy and successful COVID response put it in a healthy position for business activity. In comparison to other nations in the region suffering from heavy inflation and struggling to boost business post-pandemic, the demand for business travel to Taiwan has increased costs over many similarly sized cities in the region.

Lee Quane, ECA’s regional director for Asia was quoted by the Hindustan Times, as saying, “The rise in our rankings of Taipei is largely due to the fact that locations such as Yokohama, Beijing and Macau, which were all more expensive before the COVID-19 pandemic, are now relatively cheaper than Taipei."



The rise of Hsinchu into the top 10 reflects the global demand for semiconductors and related tech products and services. Quane said that Taiwan can likely expect to see an increase in business travelers over the next year, but many may find that costs are slightly higher than expected.

(ECA International image)