What do you get when you mix business and leisure? Traditionally, one might say “fired.” Yet, the answer in travel terms is a hybrid word, and it’s rearing its modern head in the business traveler world: “Bleisure.”
We’ve all been there: working in an exotic location wherein we never got to experience the place outside our work bubble. This reality could be about to change for good.
Recent data from a collaboration between transport business solutions firm Transfeero and credit card giant American Express shows that business trips are now morphing into mini-vacations. Remarkably, on average, 63% of US business travelers are adding extra personal days to their work itinerary.
Bleisure is Here to Stay
The age of the business-leisure trip is firmly upon us. What’s more, it is millennials leading the charge with 68% of their cohort on board. Gen-Xers are fast catching up, taking a leaf out of their younger successors’ book.
Moreover, in true millennial fashion, this new work-life balance-friendly phenomenon has birthed a hybrid buzzword: “bleisure.”
Bleisure is now a global market forecast to double by 2032, according to the study. Some of the other key data is insightful: over 80% of frequent travelers crave local exploration.
Working on Vacation
Meanwhile, the inverse scenario is also making an appearance, and another subcategory has emerged: mixing business into planned leisure, labeled “Lusiness.” This choice is likely unpopular with family members and very popular with workaholics.
One may argue that adding a dash of relaxation and sightseeing to an otherwise work-focused trip is a win-win. Economically speaking, if “bleisuring” means doubling a trip’s value, then why not?
This generation, and its Gen-Z followers, has broken the wall of work-life balance resistance, which their forebears may find frustrating. Still, in doing so, it means work-life boundaries have relaxed to a point never seen before.
The Kids Are More Than Alright
Business Insider’s Eve Upton-Clark recently spoke to Sarah LeMoine, a TikToker and frequent business tripper. LeMoine explained how she was able to conclude her business trip in Miami, plan a meetup with a local friend, and turn her work visit into a mini-vacation. Working a corporate job has allowed her to “bleisure” her way through many destinations.
Another study highlights just how seriously the travel retail industry should be taking this new travel methodology. Crowne Plaza partnered with trends research company STYLus to explore “Blended Travel” using STYLus’s extensive industry research platform.
“Blended Travel is increasingly seen as more than just a convenience,” reads the first trend overview. “For many travelers, it’s an essential tool for personal and professional growth.”
The Blended Travel Phenomenon
Crucially, blended travel is an opportunity to stimulate both the professional and personal senses, paving the way for self-improvement. The act of working in a new setting, meeting new colleagues, and operating with an alternate cultural backdrop can only stimulate one’s thinking.
A business lunch over exotic cuisine in the host or neutral setting also lends itself to building rapport under a different professional lens.
Beyond the need for self-fulfillment and personal growth, there are other perks to mixing work and travel. Another trend becoming normalized, albeit for a certain few, is the idea of full-time working while traveling.
Digital Nomads and Far Flung Professionals
Companies are also catching on. Career development firm Monster shared a list of global companies offering attractive stints across their widespread network of headquarters. For an upwardly mobile generation of young, online, cloud-based nomads, there is no reason to be stuck anywhere.
“Today’s global economy means that many U.S. employers have offices all over the world,” reads the guide. “Many big firms offer employees the opportunity to take short-term assignments in far off places.”
Obviously, this differs somewhat from digital nomads, many of whom are freelancers living their best lives wherever they choose.
Mobile and Industrious
This huge digitized global workforce can now pick and choose where it opens its laptop. Some stay away indefinitely, making the most of cheaper economies and rent they cannot get in American cities. Others just crave a few months in a new place as they work in flexible or remote positions.
Regardless, working away from home has just been given a whole new meaning. Of course, traditional business trips will still be normal. However, visiting a country on business but never really seeing beyond the hotel conference room may one day be a thing of the past.
Ben is a lifestyle, travel, news, and features writer with bylines for dozens of publications, and he has bylines across many online platforms.
Raised in England and with a career background in international education, he now lives in Southern Spain with his wife and son. Ben has lived on four continents, including Africa, Asia, and North America, and he has worked diverse jobs, ranging from traveling film projectionist to landscape gardener.
He offers a unique, well-traveled perspective on life, with several specialties related to his travels, namely, international living and culture. Ben loves writing about travel, food, news, and trending cultural topics, among many others.
When he isn't writing, you will find him hiking with his family or on the nearest golf course looking for his golf ball.