Discover new destinations, meet new people and get away from the office. These are the priorities of French business travellers, as revealed by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) study on French perceptions of business travel, published on 2 July. While the 500 travellers surveyed would like to travel more often (28 %), but not at the expense of their salary 66 % of them would not reduce their pay to travel more often.
Their mission remains their priority, and they make relatively little use of their free time on foreign soil. In fact, 32.8 % prefer to take advantage of the hotel and its facilities to work. On the other hand, the natural appetite of the French for a good meal stands out, with 28.8 % of respondents going to try out the local gastronomy. Others prefer to lose calories rather than gain them : 24,2 % do sport in or outside the hotel. A minority of 17 % visit the cities on their own or with a guide.
A painful separation from family
According to the study, "bleisure" has not yet won over the French. This practice, which involves extending a business trip to enjoy a foreign city, attracted only 37 % of respondents who extended their trip by one or two days. 21.8 % of respondents had simply thought about it, without acting on it. This practice does not yet seem to be the norm, even if there is no lack of desire: 37.6 % of them regret not having the time to explore more. On the other hand, business travellers admit that being away from their families is difficult (53.6 %). This distance could be a barrier to the adoption of this practice.
However, IHG managers seem confident about the future of bleisure: " Personal projects and discovering new destinations are priorities and travellers are looking to maximise their time each time they travel. "says Mike Greenup, Vice President of Brand Management Europe at IHG.
