The newspaper reported that Professor Gillespie traveled business class from Edinburgh to Hong Kong costing £4,723, while his colleague took a cheaper flight of £1,067.

Accommodation for a two-night stay costs £682 each.

It was also reported that business class flights for an upcoming trip to China and Dubai had been booked at a cost of more than £8,300 before being canceled and rebooked with lower-cost premium economy flights.

It is understood that last year’s trip to Hong Kong generated more than £75,000 in income and donations to the university.

But a university staff member told BBC Scotland News he believed using business class flights was “irresponsible”.

They said: “When we are asked to work with budget cuts after budget cuts, covering multiple jobs due to the recruitment freeze, it is infuriating to see the director getting away with it on business class flights on his salary of £300,000.

The university said its China operations were “a major part” of its global strategy which it said brought in millions of pounds a year through “student recruitment, education and collaboration in the country.”

A spokesperson said: “The main travel to and from China in premium economy class, at a significantly reduced cost compared to what had been indicated, and which must be weighed against the value of our global partnerships and everything they bring to Dundee.”

He added that it was “not unusual for plans and commitments to change” when planning international travel.

The spokesperson said: “This sometimes has a relatively small cost as flights and accommodation need to be rearranged, but again this needs to be weighed against the value of the activity and the significant revenue that it helps generate for the university.”