Agoda report highlights rise of bleisure travel across Asia-Pacific in 2026

Agoda’s latest research points to a growing shift in how professionals across Asia-Pacific approach corporate travel, with business trips increasingly blended with personal leisure time. The digital travel platform’s 2026 Travel Outlook Report indicates that bleisure travel is no longer a fringe behaviour but a mainstream preference shaping travel plans for the year ahead.

The study found that 76% of surveyed business travellers across the region intend to combine work trips with leisure activities. In several Southeast Asian markets, interest levels climb even higher, suggesting a structural change in how working professionals view time spent away from home. Rather than treating business travel as purely transactional, many travellers are actively planning to extend their stays to rest, explore, or experience destinations beyond meeting rooms and conference centres.

This trend reflects a broader rethinking of work-life boundaries, accelerated by more flexible attitudes towards remote and hybrid work. As business travel recovers and stabilises after years of disruption, professionals appear more willing to maximise the personal value of time spent on the road, turning necessary trips into more holistic experiences.

Southeast Asia leads strong appetite for extended work trips

The report highlights Southeast Asia as a key driver of the bleisure trend. Among respondents planning business travel in 2026, Indonesia leads the region, with 27% citing work-related travel as a priority for the year. The Philippines follows at 20%, while Vietnam ranks close behind at 19%, underlining the continued importance of in-person meetings and regional mobility.

What stands out, however, is what happens once work obligations are completed. In the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, more than 85% of business travellers said they intend to extend their trips to include leisure time. Filipino respondents recorded the highest level of interest at 95%, followed by Thailand at 92% and Vietnam at 86%. These figures suggest that for many travellers in these markets, leisure is no longer an afterthought but an integral part of business travel planning.

The data also points to a shift in traveller behaviour during transit. The report notes that professionals are increasingly transforming short layovers or tightly scheduled itineraries into longer stays, signalling a willingness to slow down and extract more value from travel. This change has implications not only for accommodation and flight bookings, but also for local tourism economies that benefit from longer visitor stays.

Traditionally conservative markets also embrace bleisure

While Southeast Asia shows the strongest enthusiasm, the report indicates that bleisure travel is gaining traction even in markets with more conservative business travel cultures. Japan, often associated with tightly structured work trips, recorded notable interest, with 58% of business travellers planning to add personal time to corporate itineraries. This suggests a gradual cultural shift in how Japanese professionals perceive work-related travel.

South Korea also demonstrated strong adoption, with 76% of business travellers indicating plans to combine work and leisure. Indonesia, despite leading the region in business travel intent, similarly reflects a growing openness to extending trips beyond formal commitments. These patterns point to a region-wide reassessment of travel priorities, rather than a trend confined to a handful of leisure-oriented markets.

Agoda positions this shift within a wider global context, noting that the bleisure travel market is projected to reach as high as US$1.71 trillion by 2032. The platform views this growth as evidence that the blending of business and leisure is becoming a defining feature of modern travel behaviour, rather than a temporary response to post-pandemic flexibility.

Omri Morgenshtern, Chief Executive Officer at Agoda, said: “Across Asia-Pacific, we’re seeing professionals plan to intentionally extend their work trips with personal days to enjoy local experiences and make the most of their time on the road. At Agoda, we’re focused on making it easy for travellers to seamlessly plan both the business and leisure parts of their journey, all in one place and at great rates.”

To support this demand, Agoda’s platform brings together more than 6 million holiday properties worldwide, over 130,000 flight routes, and more than 300,000 activities that can be combined within a single booking. The company positions this integrated approach as a way for travellers to manage both professional and personal travel needs efficiently, whether booking accommodation near a convention centre or extending a stay to explore nearby attractions.

The findings are based on research conducted in October 2025, surveying 3,353 travellers across nine Asia-Pacific markets, including India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The study focused on travel intentions for 2026, with particular attention to business travel and the likelihood of combining it with leisure time.