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.
That’s according to new data from Corporate Traveller, the SME-specialist business travel division of Flight Centre Travel Group.
The increase comes in a year marked by economic and geopolitical disruption.
There was a 10 per cent U.S. 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, disrupting global aviation, shipping and oil markets for much of the first half.
“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.
“The USA, and always will be, a critical trading partner for Australian businesses – with Education, Services, Information Technology, Government/NFP, and Finance and Insurance leading the charge for the top industries travelling to the States.”
Small and medium enterprises account for close to 98 per cent of all Australian businesses and, combined, contribute more than half of national GDP, according to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman data.
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.
Corporate Traveller’s own customer data reflects the same trend.
The company has reported that a large majority of its SME customers now treat travel and expense management as a strategic priority and describes SME travel programs as increasingly resembling those run by major corporates – despite far leaner internal resourcing.
The growing demand for travel to the U.S. opened the door to new capacity from major carriers, including the likes of Delta Air Lines, Qantas and United Airlines.
“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.
