„The numbers are surprising: According to the study Chefsache Business Travel, nine out of ten companies already allow their employees to take bleisure trips. In the future, respondents aged 40 and over and frequent business travellers in particular will want to combine business and leisure.”
89 percent of business travellers can now already use the combination of business trip and holiday. Almost as many (83 per cent) have taken a bleisure trip in the past year.
For a good half of the respondents (53 per cent), their employers covered the travel costs to and from work in full. 28 percent had to contribute to the costs.
For the authors of the study “Chefsache Business Travel”, who have been conducting the survey for ten years on the initiative of Travel Management Companies in the German Travel Association (DRV), most companies have thus recognised bleisure travel as a “must-have in the fight for skilled workers”.
Enjoy the weather or save days of holidays
The decision for a Bleisure trip was made by most respondents (44 per cent) because of the attractive destination with opportunities for beach visits, sightseeing or culture. In addition, for 40 per cent, the available time after the business trip was decisive. Another common Bleisure reason cited by respondents was the desire to relax after the business trip (34 per cent).
A look at the age groups shows that the motivation for Bleisure differs significantly in some cases. For example, business travellers aged 40 and over are more likely to take attractive weather as a reason for the Bleisure trip (41 percent) – among those under 40, it is 13 percentage points less. The latter are more likely to want to save time for an additional journey to and from work and thus holiday days (39 percent compared to 18 percent of those aged 40 and over).
70 per cent of business travellers aged 40 and over and 70 per cent of frequent travellers with three business trips or more per month would also like to combine business and pleasure in the future. Across all age groups, more than one in two respondents (58 per cent) said this.
Business travel agencies want to support bleisure travel
“More and more companies are recognising the advantages of Bleisure Travel,” explains Andreas Neumann, Managing Director of ADAC Reisevertrieb. “This not only increases employee satisfaction and motivation, but also makes them more attractive as employers.” In addition, the environment benefits from this, as the total number of trips made is reduced. As a result, the companies’ ecological footprint in terms of transport and emissions is also reduced.
According to Andreas Neumann, it is important to establish clear guidelines for all employees that define the framework on site and take into account legal, insurance and compliance requirements. At the same time, there should be room for individual needs in terms of travel duration and destinations.
Business travel agencies, adds Andreas Neumann, now offer support in implementing bleisure travel in companies. This ranges from advice to travel cost management and booking tools that enable employees to adjust their travel plans independently and add leisure options.
In the current survey “Chefsache Business Travel”, 150 German decision-makers, each of whom undertakes at least one business trip per month, from all companies and sectors took part in the online survey. The DRV initiative is supported by the travel management companies ADAC Reisevertrieb, American Express Global Business Travel, BCD Travel, DERPART Travel Service, Egencia and Lufthansa City Center.
Photo: © iStock/Bojan89
