Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel platforms, today unveiled its latest research study which looks at the trend for ‘Bleisure’ Business travel and reveals that 72% of Indian business travellers extended their business trips to spend time enjoying the destination in 2018, while (53%) are planning an international business trip in 2019, the highest amongst 31 countries surveyed followed by Philippines (51%) and China (42%).

Nearly two-thirds of Indian travellers (65%) say that they have been on a domestic business trip, which is the highest percentage globally, ahead of Indonesian travellers (62%) and Chinese travellers (62%). In addition, more than half (58%) of Indian travellers reported that they had been on an international business trip in 2018. This is more than double the international standard (25%)* and the highest percentage amongst all 31 markets surveyed.

When travelling for work, Indians also claim to enjoy travelling for business the most of all the nationalities surveyed: 83% of Indian business travellers rates it a 7 out of 10 or higher, and 41% even rates it a 9 or higher. To compare, the same stats for global travellers are 58% and 21% respectively. Similarly, Indian business travellers are most positive of all the nationalities we surveyed when asked whether they are able to enjoy the destination on their business trips. Slightly over half (56%) of global business travellers report they often get to enjoy their travel destination, going up to over three quarters (76%) for Indian business travellers.

Lastly, the findings from the study also reveal some of the scenarios ‘Indian Business Travellers’ are most anxious about when travelling. Almost 55% of Indian business travellers have expressed their concerns over the prospect of accommodations having received fake reviews and misleading photos. Adding on to this sentiment of insecurity, 53% feel apprehensive about their personal details being stolen if not, no confirmation of their bookings made from the service provider’s’ side in the first place. Apart from worries surrounding transparency, 48% feel that they may not pick the right place or get the best deal because of the cost associated with the accommodation.

Commenting on all these findings, Ritu Mehrotra, Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com said, “We are witnessing a steady rise in ‘Bleisure’ trips being taken by Indian business travellers for both domestic and international destinations. Work hard, party harder is the new mantra for those who want to turn their business travel into an extended vacation demanding the best of both worlds. We’re likely to see this trend continue to grow in the near future, with the potential to help boost the Indian travel industry to scale further heights. At Booking.com we’re focused on making business travel as easy and seamless as possible, with tailored tools and services, taking the anxiety out of travel while also providing the most diverse choice, so that people can find, manage and enjoy company stays in the simplest, smartest and most rewarding way.”

The trend of traveller’s extending their holiday after wrapping up their business trips is a way of letting off steam and de-stress, with the increasing number of Indians who work in MNCs and have to travel to different destinations for business purposes. Taking that little time off also allows them to recharge their batteries and give them some ‘me-time’ which helps with their personal growth.