kabarsula FCM Travel: Golden Triangle slips as resources boom lifts WA corporate travel bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Corporate travel flows are being redrawn, with bookings into Perth, the Goldfields and regional Western Australia surging while the Golden Triangle of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane lost ground in the first half of 2026.

The findings come from FCM Travel, the large enterprise travel management specialist of Flight Centre Travel Group. Its first-half data showed Melbourne–Sydney travel fell about 4 per cent year on year, Brisbane–Sydney dipped 2 per cent and Brisbane–Melbourne dropped about 7 per cent.

Travel to Australia’s west told a different story. Broome–Perth bookings rose 43 per cent and Kalgoorlie–Perth climbed 40 per cent, while Adelaide–Melbourne travel jumped 24 per cent. Routes connecting Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide to Perth also posted solid growth.

Behind the shift in destinations, there has been a shift in industry. Mining, oil and gas overtook government and not-for-profit travel to become FCM’s most-booked sector nationally, with domestic bookings up 21 per cent year on year despite Middle East conflict clouding international travel.

“For years, the Golden Triangle has carried the bulk of corporate travel because that is where the head offices, meetings and deals were,” general manager of FCM Travel ANZ, Renos Rologas said.

“Although the Golden Triangle remains strong in volume, this half, Western Australia showed that it is a genuine contender. Business is following opportunity, not habit, and right now that opportunity is sitting in the ground out west.

“There’s a reason this sector keeps showing up in our data. Australia sits on some of the best mineral wealth in the world, and the resources behind this growth will play a key role in the rest of the world’s shift towards renewable energy.

“When an industry moves like this, everyone who works within it moves too.”

Growing international investment drives boom

The timing tracked a boom in the west, underpinned by growing international investment. Gold exploration spending in WA recently hit its highest level since records began in 1988, while Australia’s gold export earnings are forecast to climb from $47 billion in 2024–25 to $74 billion by 2026–27.

The US–Australia Critical Minerals Framework, signed in October 2025, has helped anchor renewed confidence in the resources sector more broadly.

The trend also echoed resilience in the wider economy. NAB’s Monthly Business Survey showed business confidence recovering for three consecutive months through June 2026, after falling sharply when the Middle East conflict first broke out. The report noted the impact of rising fuel costs and disruption had been smaller than initially feared.

Government and not-for-profit travel also grew strongly over the period, while utilities travel climbed as the energy infrastructure build-out continued – evidence that confidence is broadening beyond mining.

“Mining becoming our most-travelled industry, and Western Australia becoming one of our fastest-growing destinations tells you where confidence in the Australian economy is really sitting right now,” Rologas said.

“Businesses are backing the regions and industries doing the heavy lifting, and they’re getting on planes to do it.”