New Trends in Travel - The Bleisure Traveler

There are millions of travelers passing through airport terminals, train stations, seaports, and bus terminals all over world each day. Each of these travelers has his or her own reason for traveling to their respective destinations. So it’s safe to say that there are millions of reasons why people go and visit other places.

These reasons that urge people to travel, numerous as they may be, can actually be classified into two general categories. People travel either to seek pleasure and recreation, or they travel to conduct business.

According to Luggage Direct, an online luggage retailer, it is pretty easy to tell whether someone is traveling to get a well-deserved rest or to pursue a new business venture. It’s usually quite easy to distinguish a tourist on vacation from a company CEO out to meet a client based on the outfit they are wearing and the type of luggage they are carrying.  A person’s luggage of choice doesn’t only tell where he or she is going, it also speaks a lot about that person’s status, tastes, and character in general.

It goes without saying that the luggage a traveler is carrying says a lot about where he or she is going. A tourist’s travel trolley, therefore, has items not usually found in a business traveler’s luggage, and vice versa. As a general rule, a tourist wouldn’t use luggage designed for business travel to spend a long weekend beach vacation in Maldives.

However, there are some travelers who opt to combine both recreation and business in one trip. More often than not, they will be wearing a smart casual get-up and carrying with them a multi-purpose luggage.  Often, their purpose is mainly business but they’ve decided to do some sightseeing on the side if traveling to a new or favorite destination. As such, these travelers will fall under what has been described as the ‘bleisure’ category of travel.

The Bleisure Traveler

Bleisure travel is fast becoming a trend among businessmen, professionals and especially expats, the world over. It usually takes the form of business travel with a couple of days of recreation added into the itinerary in the hope of achieving the so-called work-life-balance. Of course there are many variations to how that combination works for individual travelers.

Bleisure travel, being a mix of recreation and business travel, begs the question as to what type of luggage to bring. The luggage needs to combine the essential features of both business travel luggage and pleasure travel bags. It also must have ample space to accommodate both business documents and personal effects.

The foremost consideration when choosing luggage for bleisure travel is the bag’s aesthetics. The design should not be too corporate so that it wouldn’t look out of place in an outdoor setting. At the same time, the color should not be so bright as to be distracting during business meetings.

The Luggage Options

Most luggage options fall into three broad categories – traditional suitcases, duffle bags and backpacks. If the bleisure travel is primarily for business, then the luggage aesthetics is more important than if the travel is primarily for leisure.

There are two types of suitcase available on the market – the soft-sided and hard-sided case. Most suitcases come with retractable handles and wheels. The hard-sided suitcases are made of materials such as polypropylene and polycarbonate, while the soft-sided ones are made of materials such as microfiber, nylon, and leather.

Either type of suitcase is suitable for bleisure travel. It comes down a lot to personal preference, but if the suitcase is going to be taken off the beaten track on the leisure part of the trip, then the weight of the case should be a primary factor is choosing a particular brand or model.

Modern duffel bags are now designed not just to carry sweaty garments to and from the gym. The latest models of duffels have retractable handles and wheels, which make them ideal for longer distance travel as well. Duffels are a perfect choice for those who want to travel light, but they are not the best choice for carrying business documents or samples.

There is now a very wide range of backpacks available on the market, which come either with a frame or none at all. Backpacks without frames are called soft backpacks, and there are many models available with pockets for documents and gadgets that are suitable for bleisure travel.

There are also some types with internal frames that have a larger capacity and are comfortable enough to do some weekend hiking. Often they will have a detachable day-pack that can be removed for business meetings, but provide additional capacity for weekend hikes or sightseeing.

Most luggage manufacturers and retailers have recognized that there is a growing bleisure travel market these days, and therefore it is not difficult to find multipurpose items of luggage that provide features to meet the needs of both the business and leisure traveler.