Mining and construction workers lead festive travel as three in four embrace 'bleisure'

Brisbane, Australia, 3 December 2025  – Three in four Australian workers are now adding leisure time to their business trips, according to Flight Centre Corporate's 2025 State of the Market survey – and the upcoming Christmas-New Year break is creating the perfect storm for extended work-holiday combinations.

The trend, known as 'bleisure' travel, continues to grow, with previous data from Corporate Traveller, Flight Centre Travel Group's flagship small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) travel specialist, showing Australian business travellers spend an average of six nights away – almost double the global average.[1] The extended stays reflect how workers are increasingly turning business trips into longer experiences, particularly during peak months like January when travellers average 7.2 nights away.[2]

"This is always our busiest travel period with school holidays and end-of-year holidays all happening at once. It creates heaps of opportunities for travellers to add some leisure time to their business trips," said Tom Walley, Australia-based Global Managing Director of Corporate Traveller.

“The festive period is a time for families, and the beauty of bleisure is that the family can come along for the ride on a business trip, taking advantage of tacking on time before or after in the same area.”

Holiday-hacking into the new year

The timing couldn't be better for savvy workers. With public holidays falling on Thursday 25 December, Friday 26 December, and Wednesday 1 January, employees can score 16 consecutive days off by using just seven days of annual leave – making it easier than ever to extend that business trip into a well-deserved end-of-year break.

Heavy industries drive holiday business travel

Corporate Traveller's data reveals mining, oil and gas workers are leading the charge over the holiday period, making up over 20 per cent of business travel bookings from mid-December through the first week of the new year. Construction workers aren't far behind at 15.5 per cent, followed by services (11.2 per cent), healthcare (11.1 per cent), and finance and insurance (8.2 per cent).

"For people in demanding industries like mining and construction, it's an excellent opportunity to squeeze in some much-needed R&R while they're already travelling for work," Walley said.

Major cities dominate travel routes

The most popular domestic routes during the holiday period continue to dominate: Melbourne-Sydney, Brisbane-Sydney, Brisbane-Melbourne, Brisbane-Mackay, and Kalgoorlie-Perth.

International routes reveal more diverse patterns, with Perth-Honolulu, Adelaide-Honolulu, Melbourne-Honolulu, Sydney-Madrid, and Sydney-Honolulu featuring prominently in Corporate Traveller's booking data.

The mix of destinations reflects the continued demand for business travel throughout the holiday period, highlighting how essential many industries remain even when offices traditionally wind down for the festive season.

Who’s travelling where for work this holiday season