Bleisure travel gains momentum as high airfares reshape business trips
By Adrian Ephraim
SOUTH African business travellers are rethinking their approach to corporate travel as the cost to get there continues to increase.
For three years now, the top of South Africa’s corporate travel table has remained unchanged. Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and the United Kingdom have consistently topped international corporate itineraries since 2023, according to booking data from Corporate Traveller, one of the country’s leading travel management companies for small and medium businesses.
That consistency doesn’t happen by accident. It reflects the areas where South African business relationships are most intense and vibrant. But in 2026, there’s a new dimension shaping how those trips are planned, approved, and experienced: the rising cost of actually getting on a plane.
Another sky more costly
Emirates said earlier this month it had restored 96% of its global network as the disruption to Middle East airspace began to ease. But the ripple effects have not subsided. Long-haul routes have been rerouted and are taking two to five hours longer than pre-crisis norms, and the cost of jet fuel is more than double what it was a month ago.
For South African companies sending staff to London or Lusaka this means higher ticket prices, more travel fatigue and more time away from the office. Which is precisely why bleisure travel is moving from nice-to-have to a strategic tool as more pressure is placed on the business case for every trip.
Adding a few personal leisure days to a business trip, known as “bleisure,” is a growing trend around the world that has been on the rise for several years. A recent industry outlook from the Global Business Travel Association found that 43% of corporate travel programmes now have formal bleisure policies, with 71% of buyers saying the approach improves employee satisfaction. Research firm Skift estimates uptake was even higher, with 60% of business travellers going on a blended trip in 2024.
Making each flight count
“The shift is being accelerated by the rising cost environment,” says Herman Heunes, General Manager of Corporate Traveller South Africa. “We’re seeing clients batch their meetings, sequence their itineraries more carefully and build in incentive opportunities where you combine business and leisure,” he says. “If you’ve already paid for the flight, the carbon and the time away, you might as well get more out of being there.”
A cost logic runs parallel to a retention argument, especially for SMEs. Quite consistently, international research shows that employees who travel for work are more likely to stay with their employer, with retention rates rising above 75% among Gen Z workers in particular. In a world where smaller firms cannot compete with the salary packages of larger competitors, a structured bleisure policy is a low-cost lever with a significant impact.
Where the data points
Corporate Traveller’s booking data reveals the four top destinations have clear bleisure extensions for the traveller willing to plan ahead.
Zambia, which has been ranked first for three consecutive years, is perfectly timed for travel right now. Victoria Falls is at near peak flow after the summer rains and game camps in the Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa are re-opening for the dry season. May and June are a shoulder window with softer rates vs. July to September peak. A meeting in Lusaka can easily be extended to a Livingstone weekend for very little additional cost.
Tanzania is in the same boat. The Great Migration is currently on the move through the central and western Serengeti with herds heading towards the Grumeti River crossings in June.
Business travellers based in Dar es Salaam or Arusha can add a three-night Serengeti extension or a Zanzibar weekend, depending on time and budget.
Kenya is having its own pre-peak build up before the Mara river crossings that really get underway in July. Nairobi itself deserves a short extension, with Nairobi National Park, the Giraffe Centre and day trips into the Rift Valley all within easy reach.
The obvious draw in the United Kingdom is Wimbledon (29 June to 12 July). Corporate hospitality packages are still available for companies with London meetings in late June or early July and the summer calendar beyond the tennis is well suited to team incentives.
“The trick is not to leave the planning of bleisure to the last minute,” says Heunes.
