Two Tennessee economic development officials spent more than $32,450 during a whirlwind four-day trip to Sydney and Brisbane, Australia this year, flying in first class and staying in five-star hotels, while meeting with confidential business clients they sought to woo to Tennessee, agency travel records show.
But because of state confidentiality laws, few details are available to the public about what they did, who they met with or whether their efforts have yet yielded any results.
Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter and Deputy Commissioner Allen Borden traveled to Sydney and Brisbane for a total of five meetings or tours with Australian companies from March 5-8.
According to travel expense records obtained through a records request by The Tennessean, McWorter and Borden spent a total of $26,490 in business and first class airfare, and more than $2,700 on food during the four-day trip, including meals with confidential clients.
They stayed in five-star hotels: the Sydney Harbor Marriott, steps from the Sydney Opera House, and Brisbane Marriott, on the river bank with a view of the iconic Story Bridge.
The two spent nearly $10,000 more on the four-day trip than all out-of-state travel expenses for all other Tennessee commissioners and cabinet-level staff for the first quarter of 2024 combined ($19,360).
Here’s what they spent for the four-day trip:
- Delta Business and First Class airfare from Nashville: $24,514
- Virgin Airlines Business Class Airfare between Sydney and Brisbane: $1,976
- Meal per diem charged to the state while in first class flight: $213.50
- Uber/ground transportation: $463.59
- Five-Star Marriott Hotel rooms: $2,555
- Meals: $2,576
- Mileage reimbursed for travel to airport: $94.78
In addition, both officials billed the state more than $200 in per diem food rate reimbursements for meals already included in their first class airfare, according to their expense reports for the trip obtained by The Tennessean.
McWhorter also billed the state for a $64 expense noted “home to BNA Uber,” while also having expensed mileage to and from the Nashville airport.
State travel rules allow Tennessee Economic and Community Development employees on travel "to promote the state" to fly business class instead of economy as all other state employees are required, as long as there is some scheduled work engagement for the same day the ECD officials land.
For this trip, both officials stayed in hotels charging nearly $100 per room, per night above the allowed government rates. McWhorter signed off on the overage months before the trip, according to emails obtained by The Tennessean.
TNECD declined to comment on whether ECD employees should charge for higher-class travel than other state employees are entitled to.
No details are available to the public regarding who or what Australian company representatives McWhorter and Borden met with, what companies or industry sectors were targeted for recruitment on the trip,
More than 30 pages of material provided to The Tennessean by TNECD contained redacted material. State law allows the agency to shield all project information from the public unless and until a contract is executed.
A spokesperson declined to disclose information on the purpose of the trip or industry sectors the recruitment efforts focused on, pointing to state laws that allow the agency to keep economic recruitment efforts secret.
“Tennessee has built a reputation of being a top destination where companies from around the world want to do business, and it has taken decades to get us where we are today,” TNECD spokesperson Chris O’Brien said.
O’Brien declined to provide any details as to the total potential investment in Tennessee’s economy that McWhorter and Borden sought to secure through meetings on the trip.
He also declined to confirm whether the department has made progress toward recruiting new businesses to Tennessee through efforts made on the trip.
There are currently 30 Australian-based companies operating in Tennessee, employing 2,046 workers, according to a briefing document for the trip. Australia is 15th for foreign direct investment in Tennessee, according to the briefing document, with $295 million in total investments in the state economy. Australia is Tennessee’s 10th largest export destination, primarily focusing on medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture and construction machinery.
“TNECD engages in (foreign direct investment) trips, as do most other U.S. states, and we are competing nationwide to land these international brands,” O’Brien told The Tennessean in an email. “Additionally, these trips allow us to maintain and grow existing relationships with international businesses already investing in Tennessee.”
The governor's office has disclosed meetings with existing companies doing business in Tennessee on past economic development trips, including one to France and Italy. But O'Brien on Thursday declined to release information on any existing companies the top ECD officials met with, citing state confidentiality laws about recruitment efforts.
TNECD has landed about 150 foreign direct investment projects since Gov. Bill Lee took office in 2019, according to O’Brien.
McWhorter and Borden’s trip marked the first economic recruitment trip in nearly 20 years, with the last having occurred in the Bredesen administration, the department confirmed.
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her atvjones@tennessean.com or on X at @Vivian_E_Jones.
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