30% would accept a lower pay for more overseas travel opportunities

Good news for employers, you can now pay your staff less - provided you give them more opportunities to travel for work.

According to a new research by Booking.com for Business, 30% of business travellers would accept a lower paying job if it meant they could travel more for work.

This shows that bosses are potentially under-valuing business travel as a staff remuneration ‘bargaining chip’ as well as a workforce motivation and retention tool, the research states.

These findings reflected the broader trend of employees smudging the line between business and leisure. More than half (49%) of business travellers have extended their business trip to a different city or country in the past year, with nearly one third of this group (27%) claiming they intend to do the same in 2017.

Booking.com for Business predicts that this trend will continue in the coming year with 46% of those surveyed believing they will travel more for business in 2017 than they did in 2016.

Ripsy Bandourian, director of product development, Booking.com for Business commented: “No longer seen as lost time or a career inconvenience, business travel is increasingly seen as an opportunity to expand horizons, find inspiration and progress in a career."

"Today’s laptop and latte breed of employee is increasingly mobile and fluid with their travel plans, looking to strike a balance between business and leisure travel – bleisure," he added.

10 fastest growing cities for business travellers

While cities like London, Paris and Frankfurt remain business travel hotspots, digging deeper, Booking.com for Business also uncovered the identified the top-10 fastest-growing cities for business travellers.

1. Shanghai2. Tokyo3. Bangkok4. Guangzhou5. New York6. Budapest7. Singapore8. Hong Kong9. Prague10. Amsterdam

With slightly more than half (55%) revealing that they enjoy travelling for business, these more hidden gem destinations are encouraging this new breed of business travellers to tag on extra days to their trips to explore and make the most of their time away from the office.

Top 5 business travel destinations with fastest transit times to city centre accommodations

The research further revealed that when visiting a city, 62% of people are keen to do as many activities as possible when visiting a new location - in other words, the less time spent in transit (travelling from the airport to accommodations) the better.

The top 5 business travel destinations with fastest transit times to city centre accommodations

1. Singapore Changi Airport: 46 minutes2. Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport: 47 minutes3. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport: 54 minutes4. Madrid Barajas Airport: 57 minutes5. Berlin Tegel Airport: 58 minutes

ALSO READ: Infographic: business travel expense in Asia

Additionally, the survey found that the new generation of of business travellers are far more likely to book a trip or change their travel plans at the last minute. Nearly a quarter (23%) book their travel within a week before their trip for domestic locations, and 24% book their international business trip four weeks or less before departure.

“It’s clear that a one size fits all approach to business travel is no longer sufficient with this new breed of employee," Bandourian said.

"Whether it’s exploring new destinations, using technology or apps to make their employees’ experience more seamless or trying out different places to stay such as villas or homestays, companies should build this flexibility into corporate travel policies or give staff the freedom to plan, book and manage their own itineraries. It can reap massive rewards in terms of staff satisfaction levels and make companies far more attractive to outside talent,” Bandourian added.

Photo / iStock