Travelers from the Americas best at combining business and pleasure

People from the Americas are ahead of their counterparts in Europe and the Asia-Pacific when it comes to combining business travel with pleasure. A survey by travel management company CWT found people from the Americas are more likely to extend a business trip by adding on a few extra leisure days than their counterparts in the other regions. The showed respondents globally on average had extended their trips 2.4 times in the past 12 months. READ: Thomas Cook travelers deluge refund website as UK airlift ends But Americans were the top dogs at 2.7 times followed by Europeans at 2.4 times and Asia-pacific residents at 2.3 times. The average extension globally was 4.3 days. Not surprisingly, the research found companies are mostly supportive of so-called “bleisure” travel if employees pay their personal expenses. The survey involved 2700 business travelers who traveled four or more times in the previous 12 months. Respondents were from the Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the United States), Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) and Asia Pacific (Australia, China, India, Japan, and Singapore). It also found that most business travelers believed the benefits or business trips outweighed the negatives at work (92 percent) and at home (82 percent). Americans were the most enthusiastic followed by business travelers from the Asia-pacific and Europe. Asked what was most exciting about business travel, about a third said traveling to a new destination, while face-to-face networking also rated highly at 21 percent. Getting out of a work routine was plus with 18 percent of respondents and meeting a colleague or a client for the first time attracted 17 percent. “Traveling to a new destination, meeting someone face-to-face for the first time, networking with people that can help you to advance your business as well as your career, and getting out of the work routine are some of the most exciting factors associated to business travel according to our findings,” said CWT executive vice president Niklas Andréen. “It’s important that we recognize the true value that travelers find in their travels, and understand what provides the most positive benefits while on the road.” The survey showed travelers believed the top three benefits of meeting people in person were developing trust (39 percent, getting to know people better (32 percent), and efficiencies (31percent).