The key findings from Trip.com's global survey of approximately 1,700 people worldwide are the expansion of bleisure, which combines business and leisure travel, and the emergence of the “invisible costs” of business travel management at Japanese companies.
A survey using global business travel data found that bleisure, which combines business and leisure travel, is expanding. Friday check-ins during business trips rose 26% year on year, bookings that added personal plans immediately after a business trip increased 30%, and bookings for personal travel within 7 days after a business trip rose 25%, showing a broader shift from work-focused travel toward journeys that combine business and personal purposes. Stays were extended by an average of 3.4 nights after business trips, while 60% of travelers continued staying at the same hotel.
By region, Singapore ranked first worldwide for hotel booking volume in 2026. Weekday stays and Friday check-ins rose sharply in Seoul, and London saw similar growth. In Southeast Asia, corporate hotel bookings in Benkan Province, Vietnam, surged 341% year on year, indicating a trend toward longer stays as companies expand overseas.
Among Japanese companies, business travel volume was nearly unchanged from the previous year and travel budgets were generally stable. While 58.8% use both a TMC and an OBT, systems providing a comprehensive view of business travel remain inadequate, with only 10% of companies able to see more than 80% of their total business travel. The leading reason for bookings made outside managed channels was that the desired flights or hotels could not be found, cited by 54.5%.
The survey found that 16.0% of companies cannot measure the impact of their contracts, more than three times the global average. Improving visibility across business travel and evaluating cost-reduction measures have emerged as key challenges. As the importance of data governance grows, the findings indicate that effective use of AI requires a cross-functional view extending beyond bookings to changes, billing, expense settlement and contracts.