UK business travellers opt for 6-7 day trips over day visits

The bleisure trend is showing no signs of coming in for landing as corporates around the world spend more nights away on business trips, according to new statistics released by Flight Centre Corporate.

A worldwide analysis across the two flagship business travel brands of Corporate Traveller and FCM Travel showed that single day trips grew at the slowest rate, taking a back seat to extended stays, whilst 6-7 days of travel came out on top with growth globally of 10 per cent year on year.

In the UK, the trend is even more prominent with 6-7 days of travel growing by 18 per cent compared to last year. Those going on singe day business trips from the UK remained the same year over year, showing no growth.

In 2024 the top destinations for extended work trips over 7 days from the UK were Paris, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Glasgow and Stockholm.

“There’s no doubt that bleisure travel has been a growing trend, especially since the pandemic reshaped the way we work. But our latest data shows us just how quickly this trend is accelerating and its one that businesses must pay attention to,” said Steve Norris, Managing Director, EMEA, Flight Centre Travel Group.

This is supported by the 2024 Global Business Travel Associations (GBTA) Business Travel Index Outlook – Annual Global Report and Forecast. Released in July and based on the responses from 4,100 business travellers across five global regions, the report found they rated the one-day trip as the least popular in terms of length.

“For UK travellers, Paris has emerged as the top destination for trips lasting over seven days, this is likely influenced by this year’s Paris Olympics. We’re really noticing a shift where sporting events and concerts play a tactical role in business trips. These longer bleisure stays are beneficial for local economies, where business travellers typically spend twice as much per night compared to leisure visitors. With European business travel spend expected to increase by 10 per cent this year, we’re seeing growth in this market out pace most regions globally, bringing with it significant opportunities for local destinations.” Norris added.

Further evidence of the strong global bleisure trend comes in the form of Flight Centre Corporate’s landmark global State of the Market* that showed, on average, more than 75 per cent of customers had travellers who added leisure travel to their work trips.

“This data delivers a valuable insight into emerging and prolonged worldwide business travel trends, providing organisations an opportunity to cater to the evolving needs of their employee’s business travel requirements, as well as providing a welcome recruitment tool,” commented Mellissa Elf, Global COO, Flight Centre Corporate.

GBTA has projected that European business travel spending will reach $391.1 billion USD (360.4 billion euros) in 2024, reflecting a 10.4% increase from 2023. Additionally for this year, Europe is estimated to account for 26.4% of total global business travel spending of $1.48 trillion (1.36 trillion euros).