There's no doubt that technology has reshaped our work habits and personal lifestyles. Most especially, it has blurred the line between "on" and "off" time. It's all too easy to let our work encroach on our work or family time, with smartphones that alert us to work emails after hours, colleagues or managers messaging with urgent demands – we all know the story. On a positive note, social trends and enlightened businesses are recognizing this, and placing more emphasis on a healthy work-life balance, including business travel. Cue the emergence of bleisure travel.
So what is bleisure travel? It's simply combining business trips with vacation experiences – work plus leisure in a single trip. This is becoming a mainstream corporate travel approach, as companies re-examine traditional work-life balance policies to allow employees to take time off for leisure activities while traveling on business. It has also been driven by the boom in remote and hybrid work along with flexible workflow schedules and different demographics entering the workforce.
Key takeaways: What is the meaning of "bleisure" in the context of business travel?
- Bleisure travel is redefining the approach to business travel.
- The main drivers are changing work cultures, the rise of hybrid work models and employees wanting more from their work trips.
- Bleisure travel offers a range of benefits for both companies and employees, such as cost optimization, improved productivity and personal wellness.
- Best practices include clear company guidelines, and intelligent route planning with smart itineraries.
- Many top business destinations and corporate travel bureaus now promote bleisure trips.
- SIXT's corporate rental services neatly align with bleisure travel trends, offering flexible booking and branches conveniently located near major travel hubs.
What is bleisure travel and how is it defined?
The original bleisure meaning has been slightly expanded as companies and employees have explored more options and started extending business trip durations to accommodate leisure time. These are also called "bizcations" or bleisure trips.
Bleisure travel is designed to blend work and leisure time into a single business trip so that employees can enjoy themselves and relax in-between or after meetings and work tasks. It lets them enjoy undisturbed dinners and take days off to recharge. They can go sightseeing, for which traditional business trips don't have time. They'll avoid the treadmill of commuting from airports to hotels to business premises and have a chance to actually explore and experience the countries they visit. Perhaps the simplest bleisure definition is that it allows business travelers to make the most of both worlds without rushing or stressing.
Why is bleisure travel trending?
Bleisure travel is trending for a few reasons, but the main one is a change in corporate culture in response to sociological and demographic evolution. Priorities are shifting as companies gain a deeper understanding of how to support employees' wellbeing, create a healthier work-life balance, and attract and retain talent. On the flip side, technology has created a generation that doesn't subscribe to traditional work models and expects companies to implement the latest hybrid paradigm with flexibility and empathy.
Research shows that bleisure travel is a very popular offering. Data from a survey by WiFiTalents revealed that 60% of business travelers are choosing to extend their trips to include leisure opportunities. In tandem with this, HR policies and corporate travel budgets are adapting, further fueling the growth of bleisure travel. Additionally, remote and hybrid work environments are very compatible with more flexible business travel arrangements.
Moreover, a survey by Tourism Economics among travel industry experts highlighted bleisure travel as a top growth opportunity for the industry.
Types of Bleisure Travelers & Demographics
We can broadly classify bleisure travelers into three classes:
- Longer-stayers = professionals who extend short business trips with additional days for leisure activities.
- Group bleisure travelers = typically teams or groups who attend conferences and add extra days to their trips for shared leisure experiences.
- Millennials and Gen Z = younger, new-generation employees who expect more accommodating work-life integration. As the Conversation explains, this generation values job security, work-life balance and mental health above all else.
Benefits of bleisure travel
Bleisure Travel Benefits for Companies
Cost efficiencies
- By extending stays and interspersing work with leisure, companies can reduce the number of separate business trips required, saving on travel costs.
- Incorporating flexibility allows companies to take advantage of special rates on accommodation and transport, and identify the most cost-effective off-peak travel times.
Attracting and retaining talent
- Bleisure travel can be a powerful recruiting perk, particularly for younger Gen Z employees who value flexible, empathetic work environments.
- Giving employees time to enjoy themselves and experience the places they visit goes a long way in creating loyalty to the company.
Branding advantages
- By embracing bleisure travel, companies are better able to position themselves as progressively employee-centric, attuned to societal changes and appropriately responsive.
Bleisure Travel Benefits for Employees
Better work-life balance and improved employee satisfaction
- Business trips with built-in leisure time reduce stress and promote wellbeing.
- Employees feel more valued if companies emphasize their personal needs.
Enhanced productivity
- Business travelers can pace their schedule more conveniently, allowing them to work effectively, recharge and continue, without stress or burnout.
- Remote working technology gives travelers flexibility, providing time for leisure.
Richer personal experiences
- Employees can enjoy experiences that they would miss on a tight, inflexible, work-only schedule.
Benefits of bleisure trips vs traditional business travel
| Aspect | Bleisure Travel | Traditional Business-Only Travel |
|---|---|---|
Work-Life Balance | Employees enjoy a healthier balance between work and personal life, enhancing productivity with less stress. | A rigid, work-only schedule usually results in a more stressful trip, with no time for personal relaxation. |
Cost Efficiency | Longer stays and fewer business trips create potential savings per trip as well in the overall company travel budget. | Short, frequent business-only trips are less cost-efficient and can increase the company travel budget. |
Employee Satisfaction | Blending work with enough time for relaxation and leisure leads to higher levels of employee satisfaction. | A stressful business trip schedule with minimal or no downtime can erode employee morale and create a reluctance to travel. |
Talent Attraction & Retention | Bleisure travel is a very attractive proposition for talented potential employees, especially those in the younger demographics. | Traditional business travel isn't seen as the perk it once was, no longer sought after by experienced people who know the rigors. |
Company Branding | A company with bleisure travel policies is perceived as being more modern, flexible and employee-centered. | Companies with traditional travel policies aren't as appealing to people who value diversity of experiences. |
The SIXT Bleisure Travel Advantage
SIXT makes it easy to mix business and leisure: With our flexible business car rental services and wide network of branches across the US, bleisure travelers can choose their ideal vehicles to combine commuting efficiency with road trip driving comfort. You can collect them at major travel nodes like airports, train stations and near main meeting venues.
We also encourage sustainable bleisure travel with a range of EVs and hybrid vehicles. This offers the additional business benefits of lower costs per mile and reduced carbon emissions. To help with itinerary planning, we provide flexible rental periods, whether you only need to rent a car on your days off, or want to hire one for a longer-term stay.
Bleisure travel best practices
How can travelers create a bleisure trip itinerary that successfully balances the work schedule with leisure time? Here are some best practices and practical tips for employees and companies.
- 1. Plan your days: once your business trip is confirmed, check how many extra days you have available to add on.
- 2. Check your company's travel policy: clarify what kind of expenses and reimbursements your company's travel policy allows.
- 3. Budget: check whether your company offers per diems and other expense subsidies for your leisure days. Bear in mind that the company may only pay for the business portion of the trip.
- 4. Choose versatile accommodation: ideally you want accommodation that has both workspaces and leisure facilities.
- 5. Arrange transport: to make the most of your leisure time, it's a good idea to rent a car from a reputable provider like SIXT. This will give you the flexibility and independence to easily visit local attractions without having to wait for public transport. You can also reach places that aren't on public transport routes.
- 6. Create a granular schedule: if possible, identify exactly what days and hours will be dedicated to work, and block off leisure time.
How to Create the Ideal Bleisure Travel Itinerary
- Given that it's primarily a business trip, first set out your work obligations, including meeting times, deadlines, and other tasks.
- Then slot in your leisure days. You'll get the most benefit by completely blocking them off before or after business days. Otherwise, there's constant potential that you'll be interrupted by work.
- Maintain flexibility by using hybrid remote work technology – choose accommodation that offers this.
- Finally, leave some room for spontaneous exploration.
What are some examples of bleisure travel?
- Cultural excursions to theaters, museums, local markets and significant landmarks.
- Day trips into the countryside or along the coast, taking in local culture and attractions.
- Culinary tours or visits to important wineries and distilleries
- Wellness activities like spa visits, outdoor meditation, yoga or fitness classes
- Networking events with colleagues, such as team dinners and adventure activities
Latest bleisure travel insights
To get a full appreciation of how fast bleisure travel is growing and what's driving this growth, we only need to look at the latest industry data. Several separate studies provide strong projections for bleisure travel:
- Grand View Research predicts the global bleisure travel market to reach USD 2,333.94 billion by 2030 – a 12% compound annual growth rate.
- The Bleisure Travel Global Market Report 2025 from Research and Markets estimates that the industry will grow from USD 430.86 billion in 2024 to USD 469.45 billion in 2025, continuing through 2029.
- Another forecasts an expanding compound annual growth rate in the bleisure travel market size of around 17.4% from 2025 to 2034. Motivating factors are the rise of remote/hybrid working models, increasing travel budgets, and more Millennials and Gen Z employees in the workforce.
Bleisure travel destination examples
Cities across the USA and the rest of the world are increasingly offering bleisure travel experiences. Some of the top U.S. cities ideal for combining business with leisure are:
- Orlando, Florida: Orlando is perfectly placed to offer bleisure travel itineraries. It has major conference and convention centers, and loads of theme parks, tourist attractions and sunny leisure options.
- Nashville, Tennessee: A world-renowned hub for music, culture and history, Nashville offers an ideal mixture of business facilities and entertainment activities.
- Denver, Colorado: Here business travelers can go hiking, skiing and brewery sampling while doing business in a modern technologically advanced city.
Key Takeaways on Bleisure Travel
Bleisure travel effectively blends productivity with personal enrichment. It transforms business travel from a series of stressful obligations into a holistic stay that supports employee wellbeing, fulfilment, and a progressive modern work-life balance.
Choose SIXT corporate services with the flexibility to enhance your bleisure travel:
- Flexible rental periods tailored to your itinerary
- Wide vehicle selection for both business and leisure needs
- Corporate discounts of up to 15%
- Sustainable options with EVs and hybrids
- Convenient locations at airports and city centers
- Easy booking and management through the SIXT app
Bleisure Travel FAQs
That depends on the company policy. Some companies subsidize part of the extended stay and will pay, for example, for transportation. Employees usually have to cover their own personal expenses, like meals.
There's usually a trade-off between the cost of spending additional time at the destination and the benefits of finding more flexible accommodation with lower rates and using shared rental transportation. Bleisure travel can be cheaper than traditional business travel.
Quite the opposite. Employees often stress about a tight schedule on a short trip where they have to fit in as much as possible. With more time available and the chance to take breaks, they're more relaxed, motivated, and productive.
Around Business Travel
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- What is Business Travel
- Business Travel Management
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- Sustainable Business Travel
- Bleisure
- Duty of Care
- Travel Expenses
- Business Travel Trends
- Tips on Business Travel
- Best Cities for Business Travelers
- Best Car Rental for Business Travel
- Best apps for business travel
- How to calculate business mileage
- Small Business Tax Deduction