SMEs lift US business travel by 9% despite tariffs, Middle East conflict

Sydney, Australia, 31 July 2026 – Business travel between Australia and the United States among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grew nine per cent in the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, according to new data from Corporate Traveller, the SME-specialist business travel division of ASX-listed Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX: FLT).

The increase comes in a year marked by economic and geopolitical disruption. There was a 10% US baseline tariff on Australian goods introduced after the Supreme Court struck down the prior tariff regime in February, and a conflict between the United States and Iran that erupted the same month, disrupted global aviation, shipping and oil markets for much of the first half.

Why are Australian SMEs travelling more to the US?

“Nine per cent growth in a year like this tells you everything about how Australian SMEs operate - they don't wait for the noise to settle, they get on the plane and get the deal done,” said Tom Walley, Global Managing Director, Corporate Traveller.

Key factors driving SME travel growth:

SME economic importance: Australian small and medium enterprises, combined, account for close to 98% of all businesses and contribute more than half of national GDP, according to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman data.
Business confidence: Industry-wide surveys indicate that SMEs are the more confident segment of the corporate travel market for 2026, with the majority expecting travel budgets to grow.
Strategic prioritisation: Corporate Traveller's own customer data reflects the same trend, reporting that a large majority of its SME customers now treat travel and expense management as a strategic priority, with SME travel programs increasingly resembling those run by major corporates - despite far leaner internal resourcing.

New Australia-US flight capacity opened the door

Airline capacity between Australia and the US expanded materially in the first half of 2026, creating more convenient options for business travellers:

Delta Air Lines added a new nonstop between LA and Melbourne (December 2025)
Qantas upgraded its Dallas Fort Worth–Sydney service to the Airbus A380 (from January 2026). Qantas has also confirmed a new Sydney–Las Vegas service launching later this year, taking its US network to a record six gateways
United Airlines launched the first-ever nonstop service between San Francisco and Adelaide (December 2025).

US-Australia trade cooperation strengthens business ties

The period also saw an acceleration in formal US–Australia trade cooperation. Since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Trump signed the US–Australia Critical Minerals Framework in October 2025, the two governments convened an inaugural ministerial in Tokyo (March 2026) and issued a follow-up communiqué (April 2026) in support of an AU$8.5 billion pipeline of joint projects.

“SME travel to the US now looks like a big corporate program – multi-city itineraries, higher stakes, less room for error - except most of our customers are running it without a dedicated travel manager. That's the exact gap we close,” said Walley.