Bleisure: would you work on holidays away?

‘Bleisure’ is business and pleasure rolled into one. With flexible working becoming increasingly common, some are taking the opportunity to combine personal travel with work, to keep on top of duties while on holidays.

Hotel commerce company, SiteMinder, has released their Changing Traveller Report 2022. Surveying 800 travellers across Australia and another 8,000 globally, the report details the top travel trends for the year. The rise of bleisure has emerged from this data.

Managing director and CEO of SiteMinder, Sankar Narayan said: “The long-awaited recovery of travel has emerged with a new type of traveller, who has higher expectations from hotels and their travel experiences than ever.”

He continued: “We are seeing pent-up demand pushing the next phase of global travel recovery forward, with supply-driven hurdles such as border restrictions and flight scarcity becoming less of a roadblock for travellers in high-traffic destinations across the world.”

The report found that 24 per cent of Australians plan to work on their next holiday. This figure was even higher outside the country, with 36 per cent planning the same globally. The type of holiday didn’t seem to matter, as there was a relatively even split as to which type of holiday people would make a working one. Fast and reliable WiFi was important, however, with 35 per cent saying that would be their top priority for a bleisure holiday.

Mr Narayan added: “More than simply an awakened enthusiasm for travel, travellers globally have reported strong intent to book and spend more, despite rising inflation. In SiteMinder’s 2022 Changing Traveller Report, we can see that, more than ever, travellers now have ambitions to book, travel, work, connect, and experience the world with the greatest flexibility and security possible.”

The data shows that young people are the most likely to consider bleisure.

Gen Z were most likely, with 49 per cent of 18-25 year olds saying they’d take a working holiday. This figure dropped with age as 34 per cent of 42-57 year olds agreed, followed by 21 per cent of 58-76 year olds, and just 12 per cent of 77-94 year olds.

Airbnb Australia and New Zealand manager, Susan Wheeldon, says this new age of remote working is great for rural communities: “Remote work has untethered many people from the need to be in an office every day. As a result, people are spreading out to thousands of towns and cities, staying for weeks and even months at a time.”

“Now that many people can live anywhere, it is great news for communities that lay off the beaten track and are looking to diversify their local economies with more destinations being discovered by business travellers who are exploring regions outside of the usual city hubs,” she explained.

It seems an escape to the country is a key factor in this data, as 43 per cent of urban dwellers would plan a bleisure trip. This figure dropped to 31 per cent of those living in suburban areas, and 26 per cent of those in rural areas.

Read the full SiteMinder Changing Traveller 2022 Report here.

Note from the editor: please note that this article has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as advice. For example, there may be legal and/or tax implications you need to consider before working abroad.

Jack Campbell

Jack is the editor at HR Leader.