Bleisure continues to shift how you and your travelers think about corporate trips. The latest ALTOUR Index shows that employees are not just moving through airports and meetings anymore, they are blending work and personal downtime in ways that genuinely support their wellbeing.
It is not surprising. Business travel has held steady year over year, but travelers are making smarter choices. Trips are getting shorter. Most people stay one or two nights. And they are far more selective about how they use their time on the road. Bleisure has become the way to make work trips feel balanced, not draining.
Here is what stands out.
Bleisure is now mainstream
The data is clear:
- 39% of business travelers say they frequently or always add leisure time to a work trip
- That climbs to 59% for international travelers
- It is 56% among C Suite executives
This is not a fringe behavior. It is embedded in how people want to travel for work. Longer flights, time away from family and heavier schedules make the idea of adding a couple of personal days feel like a reasonable trade-off.
And because 49 percent of all travelers, and 70 percent of executives, still prefer booking with a human advisor, there is a clear signal. People want support when shaping more personal, more flexible itineraries.
Why Bleisure keeps growing
A few trends are driving this shift:
- Trip efficiency is up. Airfare spend is steady, but hotel nights are shorter. People are still traveling, just compressing the business part.
- International trips remain longer, making them the easiest candidates for tagging on a day or two.
- Traveler expectations are evolving. Convenience, choice and timing now outweigh traditional loyalty perks.
Companies are also paying closer attention to talent retention, burnout risk and employee wellbeing.
Bleisure naturally strengthens all three.
What employees really want from travel right now
The Index shows that convenience, timing, airport choice and cost top the priority list. Loyalty programs still matter, but they no longer drive the decision.
On the hotel side, location wins by a mile. Travelers want to stay close to where they need to be. After that, they want trusted brands, clear value and perks like late checkout or early check-in. All of this makes a leisure add-on feel seamless.
Bleisure is no longer a nice perk. It has become a natural part of how people manage time, energy and work-life balance.
How ALTOUR travelers are already doing it
Bleisure becomes more compelling when you see how real people use it. Here are a few stories from ALTOUR colleagues who have turned work trips into something more meaningful:
Turning a long-haul trip into a memory
“After a week of meetings in Japan, I added a weekend to explore Kyoto and the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. It was the first time in months I had slowed down, and it made the long flight back to India feel much easier.” – Natasha Padmaraj, Regional VP APAC and ME
A family join-up
“During our Global Partner Forum in Orlando, I was working long days supporting the event. My husband and kids flew in at the end of the week, and we spent two days at the parks together. It turned an intense work trip into something my whole family remembers.” – Karla Bopp, Creative Design Manager
Making space to breathe
“After GBTA Convention in Denver, I added an extra night to hike Red Rocks. Just a few hours outdoors made a huge difference before heading back to London.” – Millie Macauley Dodds, National Account Manager, ALTOUR UK
Using the trip for something personal
“During one of my trips to our London offices, I added a day to my trip to take a tour of Westminster Abbey and fell in love with the incredible Christmas markets. I was also able to coincide this with seeing my brother who has been stationed in Germany for the last 3 years and he travelled to London, allowing me to reunite with my family and share first-time experiences together. The entire trip felt more enjoyable and balanced.” – Angelica Aponte, VP Global Account Management, Enterprise and Key
Introducing ALTOUR Vacations
To support this shift, ALTOUR is launching ALTOUR Vacations, a private leisure platform exclusively for ALTOUR clients, built around how employees actually want to travel.
It is designed for the reality that business and leisure are blending, but should never mix in a way that complicates corporate policy or reporting.
Employees get:
- Flexible trip planning with no fixed dates
- Inspiration based on interests, not just destinations
- Exclusive rates and perks through ALTOUR’s global network
- Full support from expert advisors, online or live
- Clear policy separation so leisure stays separate from corporate records
The outcome is simple. Your people return from trips more rested, more motivated and better supported without adding complexity to your travel program.
Why this matters for your travel program
Bleisure is not going away. With business travel steady and traveler expectations rising, organizations that embrace it will gain the most.
With ALTOUR Vacations, you can offer your people a secure, compliant and easy way to shape the personal travel they want around the business travel they have. It complements your travel program, strengthens your EVP and supports the wellbeing conversation happening across every organization right now.
If you want support shaping your bleisure approach, our team is ready to help – let’s connect.
