New research shows business travellers feel the positives of work trips outweigh the negatives of work (92 per cent) and home (82 per cent), citing ‘getting out of your routine’ as a benefit.
In a survey by CWT, travellers from the Americas proved to be the most optimistic about business travel, with 94 per cent saying it outweighs the negatives at work (94 per cent) and home (86%). Those in Europe were the least positive at 89 per cent and 77 per cent, respectively.
The top three benefits of meeting clients and colleagues in person cited by travellers were developing trust (39 per cent), getting to know people better (32 per cent) and efficiencies (31 per cent).
Other benefits included travelling to new destinations (33 per cent), the fact that face-to-face networking advances their career (21 per cent), getting out of their usual work routine (18 per cent) and meeting a colleague or client for the first time (17 per cent).
Meanwhile, travellers also reported their bleisure habits, with employees extending work trips and average of 2.4 times in the past month. The average number of days tacked on for leisure purposes was 4.3 days.
The research also found companies are more supportive of bleisure travel if the employee pays for their personal expenses.
Niklas Andreen, EVP and chief traveller experience officer at CWT, commented: “Travelling to a new destination, meeting someone face-to-face for the first time, networking with people that can help you to advance your business as well as your career and getting out of the work routine are some of the most exciting factors associated to business travel, according to our findings. It’s important that we recognise the true value that travellers find in their travels, and understand what provides the most positive benefits while on the road.”
mycwt.com