On vacation but not far from work

Most business travelers choose quiet holiday destinations to relax and to escape from working life. However, our figures show that almost 40% of these travelers still check their work emails every day whilst on vacation. With a third of travelers urging their colleagues to maintain contact with them during leave. 

These figures are gathered from the responses of the travel safety company GWS Production's survey among Swedish business travelers.

The number of business travelers around the world are increasing and according to the Global Business Travel Association, expenditures for travels in 2020 are estimated to rise to an unlikely $1.6 trillion a year. Swedish businessmen are traveling more and more, along with travelling during summer holidays to different destinations.

GWS Production in Lund has asked its customers who use the company's travel safety platform; Safeture - what their year's holiday plans are looking like. Only 3.4% replied and stated that they had experienced enough traveling within their job and were happy to put down their suitcase for a while. Whereas, 76.9% stated that traveling for business did not affect their holidays. 6 out of 10, however, prefer to travel elsewhere than a location they visited on a business trip. Unsurprisingly half of all business travelers prefer a tranquil and quiet holiday - lying on a beach or visiting a spa. Alternatively, over 30% prefer to be active whilst holiday and enjoy sailing or walking.

Recent years of unrest have affected business traveler’s vacation plans. In fact, 3 out of 4 said they discuss the safety of the trip before traveling and 51.9% say that they completely avoid certain destinations due to security risks. Additionally, fear of terrorist attacks or being subjected to a crime such as theft or robbery when in a foreign country, is something considered by a large majority of travelers. However, a significant number of those also worry about a traffic accidents (34.6%), the accommodation not matching their expectations (15.4%) or wifi not working as promised (23.1%).

If something serious happens on a trip abroad, most people trust information from their travel safety app, local people and hotel staff. Social media on the other hand is far below the credibility scale, much like local media. However, the Swedish media's coverage is somewhat higher.

So, how much vacation do business travelers really have? It’s obvious that it is very difficult for many to let go of work. Just 1 in 4 responses claim they have no form of contact with their job during their vacation. Whilst 7 out of 10 check their emails occasionally and some even call in to work to check off. 34.2% also state that on their way out of work and on the way to their vacation, they have most probably turned and shouted:

“If you need anything, just call!!”

About the survey:

The survey was conducted between May 15 - June 16, 2018 and 1,220 travelers were asked.

85.2% of respondents were male. 18.5% were under the age of 30 and 40.9% were over the age of 50. 55.6% said they travel up to 14 days each year and 25.9% travel more than 30 days per year.

Contact person survey Jonas Brorson, Marketing Manager GWS + 46 708 784 626