Suitcases, side quests, and success: Why business trips are the new career hack in 2025

Nowadays, business travelers aren’t just collecting frequent-flier miles; they’re stacking personal growth points, too. Morning Brew’s latest 2025 Travel Survey dives into the minds of business travelers, revealing that work trips today are less about obligatory conferences and more about personal advancement, unexpected adventures, and, yes, even fun.

🌎 Business travel is booming (and borderless)

Despite the global roller-coaster economy, business travelers are all in. 62% plan to travel domestically for work, and 11% are booking international flights for professional ventures. In fact, Morning Brew readers are 4.5x more likely than the average adult to jet internationally every six months for business.

💼 Turns out, business travel is personal

Forget stuffy hotels and tedious small talk. Business travel today can be a means to unlocking career acceleration and personal exploration.

• 90% of business travelers will book overnight accommodations for their upcoming trips.

• More than half (54%) credit work trips for significantly expanding their professional network.

• Nearly half (48%) typically extend their work trips into leisure excursions. That’s right; “bleisure” is officially out of the buzzword graveyard.

Career gains are also on the itinerary. 51% agree that business travel has fast-tracked their career advancement and set them up for long-term success. Clearly, climbing the corporate ladder is easier when it involves actual flights of stairs (to a rooftop bar).

📍 Traveling off-script

Business trips aren’t just about filling spreadsheets; they’re turning into memorable journeys. With 66% of travelers landing in destinations they never anticipated visiting, domestic business travel has become the perfect gateway to exploration. Think savoring vineyard sunsets in Napa after a San Francisco conference, scuba diving in the Keys post- meetings in Miami, or taking in a Broadway show during downtime in NYC.

Even with international travel as a noteworthy minority (11%), it’s clear US cities offer plenty of wanderlust-worthy adventures without even needing to leave the country.

🚀 Looking ahead

The future of business travel isn’t merely transactional. It’s also experiential, enriching, and surprisingly transformative. Companies looking to connect with today’s business travelers should design experiences that blend professional objectives with personal adventure. Whether it’s wine-tasting after tech summits in Silicon Valley or culinary explorations in New Orleans after a healthcare conference, the boundary between business and pleasure is now delightfully blurred.