Hybrid Work. Hybrid Travel. A new way to enjoy business trips more than before.

Traveling for work doesn’t have to be boring. There are many ways to make business travel more enjoyable. One way is to explore the city or town where you are traveling. Find out what attractions are nearby and plan to visit them. You can also explore the local cuisine. Try different restaurants or street vendors. If you are traveling with others, plan a fun activity like a museum visit or a day at the park. Whatever you do, make sure to have fun and enjoy your trip!

As business travel is coming back, employees traveling for work have a good opportunity to take and see how they can combine business meetings with other types of encounters.
Business travel + leisure = bleisure

Bleisure is not something new. In the past, business travelers were complaining that during their business travel they were not having the time to see the city they were visiting or have a local flavor of the place by going somewhere else other than their hotel.
Before the pandemic, this way of adding a leisure component to the business trip was picking up. Today, after being stuck at home working remotely, employees are looking for more reasons to travel for business meetings while taking care of their wellbeing. According to National Geographic, prior to the pandemic, 90% of millennial business travelers, people aged between 25 and 40, were including leisure activities in their business trips.

Why companies need to consider this?

Millennials are now the ones that travel for business more frequently, and bleisure is mostly adopted by this generation. They are the ones challenging traditional assumptions, and after the lockdowns are claiming better work-life balance as a top priority.

The benefits of bleisure travel

While some companies might find this not very productive, travel managers and even managers should consider the benefits rising from including this into their travel policy as being the norm. Adding fun and relaxation as elements of traveling for business will bring many advantages in the long run. Not to mention that making this a perk or part of the package can become a competitive advantage for the company during the recruitment process.

Here are some of the benefits of adding elements of leisure to your business trip.

1. Having some other activities included in your trip schedule can reduce stress.
2. Giving something extra to discover during the business trip increases job satisfaction.
3. Adding a cultural component to the business trip can boost morale and company spirit.
4. Having something new to look forward to, increases productivity.
5. Providing enriching experiences to employees can attract new talent to the company.
6. Combining activities gives team members to spend time outside of work in a more relaxed manner.

One thing to mention here for companies focused on sustainability and reducing CO2 emissions. You might be able to reduce them. Having bleisure as a part of your travel policy having your employees travel for business and leisure, reduces the impact on the environment, thus making travel more efficient. Transportation is carrying the heavy carbon part of the travel, so combining them can actually prove to be more responsible to save some travel emissions overall.

Benefit. Not burden.

It is important to acknowledge there are multiple benefits of bleisure travel and to seek understanding on how bleisure can be included in the travel program to increase the efficient use of the travel budgets. Allowing employees to unwind and discover a new destination can help them enjoy their time and forge better relationships with their local peers or customers.
As an added bonus, some team members may see bleisure travel as a benefit and be willing to travel more to implement projects faster and keep closer to their customers.

Although business trips can be a hassle, there are ways to make them more enjoyable. By planning ahead and being prepared, people can minimize the stress of travel and make the most of their time away from home. The savvy thing to do? Given this trend, companies can embrace bleisure travel and allow their team members to make the most of their time when traveling.

If you are looking for new ways to upgrade your travel program, we’ve got you covered. As a full-service travel management company, Go Travel has over 30 years of expertise in managing business travel and MICE for over 6100 companies nationwide through its 3 branches in Bucharest, Constanta and Chisinau. We are well equipped to provide your organization the services you need to manage travel efficiently. Let’s talk about your challenges and how we can support you. Get in touch now!