Corporate travel bookings between the US and Australia/New Zealand are up 44% year over year for 2023 through Oct. 31, according to research from Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), reflecting transactions in its Corporate Traveler and FCM business travel divisions.

The most popular flight route between the US and Australia this year has been Los Angeles to/from Sydney. Los Angeles to/from Melbourne, which held the top spot last year, is now second on the list for 2023. The top routes between the US and Australia are (in order): Los Angeles to Sydney and Melbourne; and New York, San Francisco and Boston to Sydney.

According to the data, Auckland is the undisputed hub for Americans wanting to do business in New Zealand. The top five flight routes this year between the countries are (in order): Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Honolulu and Las Vegas — all to the Auckland gateway.

Charlene Leiss, FCTG’s Americas president, said the growth the company has seen across the Pacific has been “exceptional” this year as corporate travelers have been looking for ways to further expand their international footprint. The necessity of travel for businesses has really been evident of late, she said, as there has been a strong bounce back in meetings, events and conferences, along with a rise in “bleisure” travel.

The data also focused on industries that have been seeing an increase in their travel spend. Businesses in the education sector have currently been spending the most on travel between the US and Australia/New Zealand, with bookings up 150% year over year. The other industries in the top five include government/nonprofit, information technology, services and mining/oil/gas.