Last updated: May 2026
Business tourism (also called corporate travel) is the practice of traveling—domestically or internationally—for work-related purposes such as meetings, conferences, trade shows, and incentive trips.
Key takeaways
- Business tourism is projected to reach a $2 trillion global market value by 2028, according to Allied Market Research.
- For every $1 spent on work travel, companies see an average return of $12.5 in revenue.
- The main types of business tourism include traditional business travel, incentive trips, and conferences/exhibitions.
- Bleisure travel—combining business trips with leisure activities—is increasingly common, with over 60% of business trips including personal time.
- Face-to-face interaction remains essential for building trust and driving productivity, even in the digital age.
What is business tourism?
Business tourism simply means traveling for business purposes, domestically or internationally. It's one of the main types of tourism and a major contributor to global economic growth and knowledge exchange.
Employees and executives travel for work for a number of reasons:
To participate in internal meetings at different office locations
To meet business partners (clients or suppliers)
To go to conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, and other local or international business events
To take part in company retreats or incentive trips
In all those instances, business tourism enables you to open new channels of communication, exchange information in a more efficient way, and work better with others.
Is business tourism always strictly work-related, though?
The short answer is no. Although business trips used to be very short and purpose-oriented, more and more travelers are now combining business and leisure tourism in what is now known as "Bleisure". Bleisure travel refers to business trips that are extended or combined with personal leisure activities, such as sightseeing or dining, before or after work commitments.
And indeed, according to Expedia Media Solutions (2017), more than 60% of business trips included leisure activities, be it staying a few days longer at the destination, going to a museum or a concert, or exploring the local cuisine.
Business tourism vs. leisure tourism
Why is business tourism important?
So, what makes business tourism so important, even in the digital age?
The answer is simple: Nothing beats face-to-face communication when it comes to connecting with others and building trust. And we all know how important trust is in developing strong business partnerships.
Sharing the same physical space enables people to connect in a more direct and immediate way than when using Zoom and Google Meet. This, in turn, helps them to:
Better understand common goals, needs, and challenges
Work together more efficiently
Easily share knowledge and ideas
Achieve important breakthroughs and solve problems faster
And indeed, business travel is still an essential part of doing business, even in the age of remote work—60% of employees say the best way to learn on the job is to be around colleagues, according to our own survey with 1000 US workers (Perk, 2022).
Business travel helps employees be more productive, too: More than half of 16-24-year-olds say they have the best business ideas while traveling. Younger generations find it particularly inspiring to travel for work!
In addition to that, 43% of all workers feel less stressed while on a business trip rather than while working from home or from the office (compared to only 25% who feel more stressed), according to the same Perk survey. B2B marketers find live events to be very impactful when it comes to demand generation, too: according to Marketing Charts (2019), 68% say that events are the most effective tactic for capturing new leads.
So, business tourism is here to stay—and its economic impact continues to be significant.
Key business tourism statistics
- $2 trillion: Projected global market value of business travel by 2028 (Allied Market Research, 2022)
- $12.5 return per $1 spent: Average ROI on work travel arrangements
- 60%+: Business trips that include leisure activities (Expedia Media Solutions, 2017)
- 60%: Employees who say the best way to learn on the job is to be around colleagues (Perk Survey, 2022)
- 68%: B2B marketers who say events are the most effective lead generation tactic (Marketing Charts, 2019)
- 43%: Workers who feel less stressed on business trips than working from home or the office (Perk Survey, 2022)
What are the different types of business tourism?
Business travelers have different goals and motivations when traveling. Here are the main types of business travel that the tourism industry caters to:
Traditional business traveling
Definition: Employees and executives travel to meet with colleagues, partners, or clients at different locations.
Purpose: Work together, collect important information and insights, explore and develop new strategies, and share knowledge effectively.
Example: A sales manager flies to a client's headquarters for a quarterly business review and contract negotiation.
Incentive trips
Definition: All-expenses-paid vacations used to reward top-performing employees or strengthen relationships with key clients.
Purpose: Improve employee motivation and customer loyalty through leisure-focused experiences.
Example: A company sends its top 10 salespeople on a weekend retreat to reward them for exceeding annual targets. Learn more about incentive trips.
Conference and exhibitions
Definition: Large-scale events such as conferences, exhibitions, congresses, and trade shows where companies gain exposure and network.
Purpose: Connect with new markets at scale and meet prospective partners and clients in a matter of hours or days.
Example: A marketing team attends an industry trade show to showcase new products and generate leads.
Many travel management companies such as Perk offer an Events Management service to make things easier and streamline everything from booking accommodation and transport to managing attendees and sharing trip details with them. This helps make sure everyone is having a great travel experience.
How has business tourism evolved over the years?
Business tourism has been around for a while: After all, international trade trips in the past were also a form of business tourism!
Fast forward to the 21st century, and for a long time, business trips were booked by working with a traditional brick-and-mortar travel agency or contacting the airline company directly.
In more recent years, online bookings and specialized travel agencies have simplified corporate travel significantly. That said, many companies find managing business travel an overwhelming task. Especially when they're using multiple websites to search for the best deals, having to book each element of the trip with different providers, and trying to keep track of multiple invoices and payments.
This is where a modern business travel management platform like Perk can help simplify the life of admin staff, travel managers, and business travelers. Perk enables you to plan, manage, and track bookings and expenses from one single online tool and make sure all aspects of your employees' future trips are taken care of.
Download Perk's Ultimate guide to travel management to find out how you can optimize business tourism management at your company, helping you to save time and money.
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See how to save money on business travel
Frequently asked questions
- Business tourism is the practice of traveling for work-related purposes, such as attending meetings, conferences, trade shows, or incentive trips. It can be domestic or international and is a major contributor to global economic growth.
- Business tourism is work-related travel typically funded by an employer, with activities like meetings and conferences. Leisure tourism is personal travel for relaxation or recreation, usually self-funded and with flexible schedules.
- The three main types are traditional business travel (meetings with colleagues or clients), incentive trips (reward-based vacations for employees or clients), and conferences/exhibitions (large-scale networking and industry events).
- Bleisure travel refers to business trips that are extended or combined with personal leisure activities, such as sightseeing or dining, before or after work commitments. It's an increasingly popular way for travelers to get more from their work trips.
- Business tourism enables face-to-face communication that builds trust and strengthens partnerships. It helps teams collaborate more efficiently, share knowledge, and generate new business opportunities that digital communication alone cannot achieve.
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