Some 20.2% of organisations surveyed were using business travel as a “carrot” to attract potential recruits, up from 18.6% last year. Photo Credit: iStock/Paul Bradbury
An increasing number of corporates are using business travel as an employee benefit to support their talent attraction and retention strategies, according to a Business Travel Show Europe survey.
The poll, which was completed by 192 respondents (mostly based in the UK and mainland Europe), found that 20.2% of organisations were using business travel as a “carrot” to encourage potential recruits. This was a rise from 18.6% in the corresponding survey last year.
Just under 6% of respondents said that taking “bleisure” trips, which combine work and leisure travel, formed part of their programme of employee benefits, while 1.7% allow workcations where staff can work remotely from a holiday destination instead of the office or their home.
The survey found that just over half of respondents (52%) did not currently use business travel to encourage people to join their companies – although this was down from a figure of 57% in 2025.
Louis Magliaro, EVP at The BTN Group, which organises Business Travel Show Europe, said: “We’re seeing a real shift in how organisations think about business travel. It’s no longer viewed purely as a cost centre, but becoming a meaningful part of the employee value proposition.
“For younger talent especially, the opportunity to travel, blend work with leisure and experience new cultures is a powerful differentiator.
“This data shows HR teams are recognising that, and Business Travel Show Europe will be the place to find shortcuts to designing a travel policy that can support attraction, retention and employee experience.”
Business Travel Show Europe takes place on 24-25 June at Excel London, with more than 700 corporate travel buyers set to attend the event.
Source: Business Travel News Europe