SMEs join holidaymakers for strong November travel

Brisbane, Australia, 29 January 2026  – Australian small and medium enterprises are leading a resurgence in business travel, with November 2025 figures revealing that strong corporate confidence is translating into boots on the ground.

Corporate Traveller, the flagship SME specialist division of Flight Centre Travel Group, can reveal a nine per cent year-on-year increase in international travel taking place in November, outpacing the 0.6 per cent growth in short-term resident returns, demonstrating SMEs are making strategic investments in business travel.

The positive corporate performance comes as the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data show that total arrivals increased 8.4 per cent to 1,849,990 in November 2025, with total departures up 7.5 per cent to 1,910,030.

"The nine per cent uplift in international SME corporate travel tells us that Australian SMEs are prioritising in-person business opportunities and recognising that face-to-face engagement delivers results," said Jaclyn Reynolds, Operations General Manager, Corporate Traveller Australia.

"Businesses continue to move beyond video calls and are investing in real relationships – whether that's meeting clients, attending conferences, or bringing teams together.

"SMEs are the backbone of the Australian economy, and this corporate travel growth shows they're not just surviving – they're competing and winning. When businesses invest in travel, they're investing in growth."