‘Bleisure’ boom: Australian business travel almost doubles global average
Australian business travellers officially spend almost double the global average of nights away on work trips as new data reveals bleisure travel has reached a new peak of six nights on average. This contrasts sharply with global counterparts, with an average business trip spanning only 3.5 nights.
An exclusive analysis of our flight booking data from October 2023 to March 2024, revealed a five per cent rise in the average bleisure stay length.
Fuelled by flexible working trends and a continued appetite for travel following the pandemic, the figures show Australian’s are combining business and travel far more compared with the same period in the previous year.
Additional figures from the Global Business Travel Association reveal that more than six out of 10 (62%) of travellers blend business and travel more than they did in 2019, with 79 per cent choosing to stay at the same accommodation for both work and play.
Australia's Total Business Travel Spending (BTS) forecast for 2023 was put at $23,519 million USD, up from $18,538 million USD in 2022, which highlights Australia as an important market in the global business travel industry, while further reflecting recovery and growth in business travel spending.
Australia-based Global Managing Director for FCTG’s Corporate Traveller, Tom Walley, says the figures reveal more than just a homegrown love of travel, but the growing flexible working trend that accommodates bleisure feasibility.
“Prior to the pandemic, mixing business with pleasure while away for work was a real luxury and not necessarily the done thing, but that has all changed in the last couple of years. Corporates have now realised that extending trips for themselves or having their family come along to join them after a trip has ended is a great way to build upon health and wellness in the workplace,” Mr Walley said.
Education professionals are leading this trend domestically, with sectors like utilities, construction, and transportation also showing strong inclination towards bleisure.
“Given we’ve witnessed an increase of five per cent in the average business trip length in Australia, it’s clear a rise in bleisure travel is behind it, and our ability to work remotely and capitalise on extending trips – especially for meetings, events, and conferences – play a big role in this.”
Our insights reveal that education professionals are leading this trend domestically, with sectors like utilities, construction, and transportation also showing strong inclination towards bleisure. Conversely, industries such as real estate, retail, and finance are less likely to blend work trips with leisure time.
Tom says that cost of living pressures could also be behind Australian business travellers embracing bleisure trips as it offers a cost-effective way to enjoy a destination while saving on expenses. Organisations are also benefiting from this trend as it is leads to higher employee productivity, satisfaction, and retention – without additional costs to the company.
“This data also delivers a valuable insight into Australian business travel trends, providing organisations an opportunity to cater to the evolving needs of their employee’s business travel requirements. The bleisure travel trend isn’t going anywhere, and given the growth we’ve recorded, it’s clear we need to ensure we’re continuing to meet that demand.”
We provide regular insights for customers through our comprehensive online Business Support Hub, which for years has provided businesses with a wealth of prescriptive information.
In addition, our travel event series, Unpacked, offers customers bleisure travel insights and hacks through webinars and in-person events; and its regular market research uncovers business travel behaviours and needs to help businesses make informed decisions around travel, meetings and events.
