19 bleisure statistics you need to know for your next travel plans From boardrooms to beaches: the data behind the travel trend Source: Pexels Bleisure – the art of blending work trips with a little personal time – has gone from travel perk to travel norm. It’s changing how employees plan, how airlines and hotels market and how companies budget. These bleisure statistics show why “business trips” in 2025 rarely mean just business anymore. What is bleisure? Bleisure is shorthand for business + leisure, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: extending work trips to squeeze in some downtime. What started as a quiet hack – sneaking a Saturday night after a conference – has become a recognised segment reshaping the travel industry. For employees, it’s a way to turn obligation into opportunity: if you’re already flying across the Atlantic for a meeting, why not tag on a long weekend in Paris? For families, it means hopping onto a partner’s itinerary to enjoy a few days in Sydney or Berlin. And for employers, it signals a new reality: work trips are no longer “in and out” by default. Common bleisure moves include: Blocking off a long weekend in Barcelona after a client pitch, trading PowerPoint slides for tapas and a stroll along Las Ramblas. Extending a trip to Edinburgh beyond the quarterly meeting, catching the Fringe Festival or hiking up Arthur’s Seat. Adding a couple of days in Paris after a cross-channel sales conference, swapping the train home for an evening by the Seine. Turning a New York business trip into a chance to catch a Broadway show before flying back across the Atlantic. And where’s it happening most? According to Navan, the top 10 bleisure destinations right now are: New York London San Francisco Chicago Paris Las Vegas Austin Sydney Berlin Seattle 19 bleisure statistics that show just how big the shift really is Bleisure isn’t a quirky side-trend anymore; it’s become one of the biggest forces reshaping corporate travel. The numbers tell the story better than anything else: 1. In 2024, the global bleisure travel market is worth $430 billion, up from $394 billion in 2023, for a CAGR of 9.3%. Source: The Business Research Company That’s not a side hustle, that’s an industry. If your policy still treats bleisure as a cheeky add-on, you’re missing where the money’s actually flowing. Employees are booking extra nights whether you allow for it or not, so the smarter move is to bake it into your travel programme and steer that spend towards the partners you actually want to use. 2. Global spend by travellers combining business and leisure will more than double by 2027 compared with 2021. Source: Euromonitor Hybrid work has blurred the edges of “on” and “off” time, and travel is following the same curve. For companies, it’s less about saying “yes” or “no” to bleisure, and more about asking: how do we make it work for everyone? That might mean building in recovery days, clarifying what counts as a reimbursable night, or just accepting that work trips are rarely “straight there and back” anymore. Source: Pexels Looking for comfortable accommodation and simple expense management tailored specifically for the mobile workforce? Discover how Roomex can streamline your travel needs, offering hassle-free booking and expense solutions designed to keep your team focused on the job. Try Roomex today and experience the difference in efficiency and convenience for your mobile workforce. Request a Demo 3. American Airlines recently stated that bleisure travelers are the fastest-growing segment of its business. Source: American Airlines When airlines start reshaping their pitch around bleisure, you know the demand is real. The opportunity for businesses? Suppliers are competing for these travellers, which means perks, bundles and leverage if you’re organised. The risk? If you’re not, employees will just follow the perks themselves – and book off-channel. 4. 54% of business travelers took at least two trips that blended business and leisure in 2024 Source: The State of Corporate Travel and Expense 2025 That’s half your travelling workforce stretching their itineraries. So, if you – as a business – don’t plan for it, you’ll be left patching together policies on the fly. Build bleisure into the framework – whether that’s clearer expense rules, partner hotels happy with mixed-use stays or recovery time on return – and you’ll keep employees happier and costs cleaner. 5. Marriott International said business travelers stay 20% longer than they did in the past. Source: Marriott International One extra night doesn’t sound much until you scale it across hundreds of trips. For businesses footing the bill, it’s a reminder to check what’s company spend and what’s employee spend. For employees, it’s proof hotels are already expecting you to linger – which means more packages, perks and offers targeting bleisure stays. 6. 62% of CEOs expected to increase their corporate travel budgets in 2024. Source: TravelPerk  That confidence says a lot. After years of travel being seen as optional, leaders are putting money back on the table. For bleisure, it’s a green light: if budgets are rising, employees are likely to tack on extra days. The challenge: Making sure the leisure add-ons don’t quietly eat into the corporate side of the spend. 7. Nearly nine out of 10 (89%) travelers want to add some leisure time to their business trips Source: American Hotel & Lodging Association This isn’t a niche preference anymore; it’s mainstream. Nine in ten is basically everyone. The question isn’t if your employees want bleisure, it’s whether you’ve given them a safe and sensible way to do it. Ignore the demand, and they’ll just book off-policy anyway. Source: Pexels 8. 66% of corporate travellers said they extended a business trip for leisure in 2023. 14% said they did so on three or more trips. Source: Deloitte Two-thirds extending at least once is significant; one in seven doing it regularly is culture shift territory. That’s not a “perk” anymore, but a habit. The implication for employers is obvious: don’t fight..