With an increasing number of corporate travelers looking to turn their domestic and international work trips into unique travelling experiences, the concept of bleisure (business + leisure) travel has become all the rage in recent years.
Bleisure trips enhance employee morale, add value to their work and offer organizations a unique opportunity to reward deserving employees with paid leisure time at new locations. Whether you’re planning your first bleisure trip or need tips to make the most of your next one, you’re sure to find the following tips useful.
Plan your trip down to the last detail
This way you’ll be able to make the best use of your time abroad. Once work is taken care of, you’ll be able to relax and unwind knowing that you’re fulfilled your work commitments. To enhance your travel experience abroad, sign up for reward programs for access to exclusive perks and offers from travel businesses.
Research your destination
As you’ll be in a new country with a completely different culture, learn as much as you can about your destination. From places to see to local experiences and activities to business etiquette and social norms, a little prep will familiarize you with the place you’re visiting and enable you to have a truly local experience.
Remember to pack light
The best thing about blesiure travel is that you get to have the best of both worlds. This is a trip that serves dual purposes, but that doesn’t mean you must double your luggage. Instead, learn how to pack light to avoid paying unnecessary baggage fees. Conjure up outfit combinations that can be used both for business and leisure.
Make sure your flight has Wi-Fi
This is just another aspect of a well-planned bleisure trip. With access to the internet, you can complete some of your work on the flight itself, and if it’s a long-haul flight to a different country, it will help you kill time and leave you with more free time to put your feet up or go sightseeing once you arrive.
Spend your free time wisely
Joy Bray from ChiChiLLC.com says that working some personal days into your business trip is a great way to make it more bearable. But things can quickly get out of hand and leave you burnt out if you don’t manage your time well. Each day of your trip should be planned in such a way so that there is enough time (and energy) left to explore your surroundings or at least have a leisurely meal.
Bring along your family or partner
If you’re going to a country your family or significant half would enjoy visiting, consider bringing them along if feasible, or have them join you once you’re through with your meetings and business events. Such a trip would of course require more planning, as you’d need to book a family-friendly hotel and attend to your travel companions’ needs. If you’re up to it, you can turn a business trip into a memorable vacation with your loved ones.
