3 Top Tips for SA Bleisure Travellers in 2020

Headed abroad for business in 2020? Wonderful! This is the perfect opportunity to take a good, long look at your calendar and figure out a way to add a bit of a leisure component to your trip. The term ‘bleisure’ is used in travelling circles to describe a trip that combines business and leisure, and it’s becoming increasingly popular, especially among Millennials and Gen X’ers who report a far higher level of job satisfaction when the corporate journey can be tailored to add elements of personal exploration.

Here are a few top tips for SA business travellers who want to bleisure it up in 2020:

Make The Public Holidays Work for You

The 2020 calendar is looking particularly kind to the business traveller - more than half of SA’s public holidays fall on a Monday or a Friday next year, which means there are long weekends up for grabs all over the show. Here are a few of the holidays that could be incorporated into your work trip to provide you with some wiggle room for bleisure, instead of dipping into your annual leave:

• April: Good Friday (10 April) and Family Day (13 April) create a nice pocket of free time around Easter weekend.
• May: Worker's Day (1 May) falls on a Friday.
• June: Youth Day (16 June) is on a Tuesday, so you can block out the Monday for an extra-long weekend.
• August: Women's Day (10 August) falls on a Monday.
• September: Heritage Day (24 September) falls on a Thursday, so block out the Friday to create some exploration time.
• December: Reconciliation Day (16 December) is a good one to remember when you're looking at your annual Christmas leave.

Be VERY Sure About Travel Insurance

Speak to your HR department or your company’s TMC to find out how travel insurance works when you choose to add a bleisure component to your corporate journeys. Most companies will insure you while you travel under their banner, but as soon as you strike out on your own you may need to have your own cover in place. Better to be safe than sorry in this regard, so make a point of double-checking on this.

Handle Your Expenses Like A Pro

Every company has its own set of rules when it comes to claiming travel expenses. Keep a detailed notation of your expenses throughout your trip, and be sure to mark business VS personal expenses clearly. Here are a few handy expense tracker apps that you can try to make things a little simpler.

There you have it - three top tips that will allow you to make the most of your bleisure travels in 2020. Keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks and months for more expert insight on all things travel-related from inside the TravelManor camp. In the meantime, feel free to get in touch if you would like to know more about our travel planning services and how we can help you to streamline your corporate journeys in 2020.