Bleisure travel under threat? What you need to know?

Monday, August 5, 2024 Summer, sun and bleisure travel: the combination of leisure and business travel is particularly popular during the warmer months. However, this flexible travel model is under threat from companies’ cost-cutting measures, as new data shows. While it may seem simple for employees to work from anywhere, or to combine vacations with business travel, the reality for businesses is much more complex.

Indeed, companies’ concerns about costs and sustainability can prevent employees from taking full advantage of their flexibility. What about Switzerland, Germany and Austria? Flexible business travel is attractive to employees because they can often more easily reconcile business travel with their private lives. A global business travel survey provides insight into current travel flexibility in the DACH region.

Employees’ feelings 38% of business travelers say their company is focused on meeting their travel flexibility needs, ahead of other priorities. However, about 31% said their company is more focused on reducing travel costs. More than 26% of companies are reducing the possibility of remote work for their employees, when they travel for pleasure or when they combine personal and business travel.

A majority (65%) of business travelers say travel is essential for their professional development. 23% of employees would decline a business trip if they couldn’t extend it for personal travel and 22% would also decline if they couldn’t make adjustments out.