Business Travellers Seize The Chance To Mix Business With Pleasure

Experiencing new cultures, enjoying new food and extending to a holiday – how business travel is becoming more personal

AMSTERDAM – 12 MAY 2016  – Endless flights, lonely hotel rooms, jet lag and back-to-back meetings – the classic stereotypes associated with business travel. Yet research released today by Booking.com has revealed despite the stresses associated with the logistics of business travel, many of those who do it feel it’s one of the best perks of the job, with half confirming their favourite thing about travelling internationally for business is the chance to experience a new culture (50%) or to see a new city (46%).

The research conducted by Booking.com, the global leader in connecting business travellers with the widest choice of places to stay, surveyed over 4,500 business travellers across eight countries, shows that business travel isn’t just about business. Seasoned business travellers admit they get as excited about experiencing new cultures as they do about meeting in person with clients and colleagues.

HOLIDAY OPPORTUNISTS

The research also shows a fifth of business travellers take the opportunity to extend their business trip to a holiday (20%). A similar proportion (18%) see it as a good opportunity for getting some alone time, with business travellers from Japan (25%) the most likely to value alone time.

THE MOST HOSPITABLE COUNTRIES

Results showed that the chance to experience new cultures is the best thing about travelling on business, with Thailand considered the most hospitable nation. Almost a third (29%) of business travellers say that Thailand is the most hospitable country to visit, which also made the top 5 for best food. Similarly nearly a third (30%) of respondents enjoy trying new foods with business travellers considering Italy (36%) to have the best food, followed closely by France (35%).

Business travellers consider Germany the easiest country to travel in (28%), just ahead of Singapore (27%), though Singapore is also considered to have the most convenient airport to the city (32%), as well as the best airport food (30%).

THE VALUE OF FACE TO FACE

Whilst business travellers confirm that international travel can be stressful (93%), they agree that nothing can match the value of in-person meetings with clients or associates. Meeting in person is more productive, yields more honest conversations, and solidifies relationships. In general, the majority (61%) of business travellers prefer face-to-face meetings with associates outside of the office, though less than half (46%) have them regularly.

However, it was shown that business travellers in the UK (71%) and US (68%) are more likely than those from other nations to prefer face-to-face meetings. Interestingly, there was a clear business benefit to face-to-face meetings mostly for their culture-building and productivity benefits.

The research proved that two-thirds of business travellers believe face-to-face meetings lead to stronger relationships (66%) and more direct/honest conversations (66%), as well as facilitating a better exchange of information (62%), while more than half think face-to-face meetings are more productive (56%) and allow them to implement more immediate solutions (52%) than other types of meetings.

A quarter (26%) of business travellers say face-to-face meetings lead to better financial outcomes.

WORK AND PLAY

Business travellers generally feel positively about travelling internationally for business (38%). The French (30%), Italians (25%) and Americans (25%) are most likely to say they feel excited about it.

About half of business travellers say meeting with their clients and business associates in person (48%), and socializing (39%) with their colleagues and business associates are the biggest benefits of international business travel, and a quarter (24%) enjoy earning airline miles and hotel points.

Ripsy Bandourian, Director of Product Development, Booking.com for Business comments:

“Although business travel can have its stresses there are plenty of benefits –the chance to see a new city or country, broaden cultural horizens and even add in a holiday. We continue to see the blurring of lines between business and leisure travel, with this extending to the type of accommodation business travelers chose to book. Traditional business hotels have a strong role, but as business travellers look to combine business with pleasure, different accommodation types such as independent, boutique hotels as well as apartments and villas which can offer more home comforts are on the rise. Booking.com for Business offers the widest choice of accommodation for business travellers, offering them a great experience every time. By delivering exactly what they need to book the accommodation that suits them, business travellers are able to easily slip between their business and consumer travel needs.”

-Ends-

NOTES TO EDITORS

Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among 4,555 people (18 -65) across USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, China, Italy who had travelled internationally for business four times or more in the past year. Research took place between 29th of January through the 11th of February 2016.