Bleisure Boom:

Bleisure travel – the combination of business and leisure during work trips – is becoming increasingly common among UK professionals. This article explores how SMEs can support this trend while managing risks and ensuring employee wellbeing. It also highlights how the VoyagerProtect business travel insurance policy can offer cover for both the business and leisure portions of a trip, providing flexible protection for companies and peace of mind for staff.

What Is Bleisure Travel — and Why It Matters to SMEs

With remote-friendly work cultures and flexible working on the rise, more employees are combining business trips with personal downtime. This “bleisure” trend gives travellers a chance to decompress, explore new destinationsor even visit friends and family — all while staying productive on the road.

For UK SMEs, this presents an opportunity: by embracing bleisure, businesses can improve employee satisfaction, support mental wellbeing, and offer a modern perk that enhances recruitment and retention — all without potential cost implications.

The Risks Behind the Rewards

While bleisure travel may sound low-risk, the mix of business and leisure can complicate travel cover if not properly managed. Many business travel insurance policies often fall short, especially when:

• An employee falls ill during the leisure portion of their trip.
• Business equipment is lost while off duty.
• Travel plans change or are interrupted for personal reasons.

Without a clear policy and appropriate business travel insurance, SMEs may be left exposed — financially and legally.

How VoyagerProtect Supports Bleisure Travel for SMEs

VoyagerProtect is a business travel insurance product from Voyager Insurance Services, designed specifically with UK SMEs in mind. It provides the flexibility and features needed to support modern work travel — including bleisure.

Here’s how VoyagerProtect helps:

✅ Leisure Travel Covered as Standard on Super and Enhanced Levels, VoyagerProtect allows employees to add leisure time before or after their business trip on the Super and Enhanced levels of cover — an important distinction from many traditional policies. This means employees can enjoy personal days abroad knowing they are still protected for medical emergencies, travel disruption, and more.

✅ Business Equipment Cover Even during the leisure portion of a trip, employees may carry work devices such as laptops or phones. VoyagerProtect includes cover for business equipment, reducing the risk of costly replacements or lost data.

✅ Emergency Medical Assistance Whether the issue arises on the way to a meeting or a museum visit, employees can access a range of 24/7 medical support and assistance services — a vital reassurance for both staff and employers.

✅ Trip Curtailment and Cancellation In cases where a trip needs to be cut short or cancelled — for either business or personal reasons beyond the insured staff member’s control — VoyagerProtect offers protection against lost costs and disruptions, helping SMEs stay agile and resilient.

✅ Flexible Annual Policies Many SMEs have employees travelling multiple times a year. VoyagerProtect offers annual multi-trip cover, making it easy to manage recurring travel while keeping everyone protected — whether it’s for a conference or a weekend detour.

Creating a Company Travel Policy That Encourages Smart Bleisure To make the most of bleisure travel, SMEs should:

• Create clear company travel policies outlining what is allowed and covered
• Educate employees about how VoyagerProtect works and what to do in the event of an emergency
• Encourage responsible planning, ensuring any additional leisure travel doesn’t conflict with business responsibilities

A Modern Approach to Business Travel Supporting bleisure isn’t just about being generous — it’s about aligning with the expectations of today’s workforce. With the right support in place, SMEs can empower employees to recharge, explore, and perform — all with the security of business travel protection like VoyagerProtect.

👉 Learn more about VoyagerProtect for SMEs at www.voyagerprotect.com or or Request a Quote to cover your company's bleisure travel needs.