Bleisure travel is no longer a fringe benefit or buzzword; it's becoming a strategic tool for balance, retention, and revitalisation. Especially in industries such as oil, fuel, and energy, where business trips often involve long distances, remote locations, and intense project oversight, blending business and leisure can be both restorative and strategic.
Welcome to the first of a two-part series exploring bleisure travel in the energy sector. In this post, we unpack why it's rising in relevance, how to approach it with savvy policy, and share tailored ideas for oil and fuel professionals. In Part 2, we'll dive deeper into sample itineraries, travel hacks, and risk mitigation strategies that make bleisure work in high-pressure industries.
In sectors like oil, gas, and fuel, business travel isn't just hopping on a quick flight to Joburg for a meeting. We're talking multi-leg journeys, visas, remote sites, regulatory briefings, safety compliance audits, and more. Here's why bleisure travel makes exceptional sense in this context:
Consider a logistics planner travelling to Mozambique's Cabo Delgado region to scope port expansions. It's an intense week of negotiations and site visits. Instead of rushing back, the planner tacks on a two-night detour to Pemba, enjoying the coastline while gaining deeper context on local culture. It's a soft reset before heading back to HQ, and the insight gathered could prove valuable on future cross-cultural calls.
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Before encouraging your team to embrace bleisure, it's important to establish guidelines that balance flexibility with compliance. Here's what works:
Clarity is key when separating business and leisure. For example, if an engineer flies to Ghana for an onshore pipeline inspection from Monday to Friday, and then stays the weekend in Accra to explore the city and relax before flying home on Monday, the company's liability and insurance cover typically ends on Friday evening.
This needs to be clearly stated in the policy to avoid confusion about who is responsible should anything happen during the leisure leg. Include specific language in travel documentation or booking confirmations that outlines this cutoff point so there is no grey area if a claim arises.
Imagine a procurement officer is attending a week-long conference in Cape Town, with work-related accommodation covered from Monday to Friday. They want to add two nights in Franschhoek over the weekend for a wine-tasting break. The company pays for the business flights and the conference stay, but the traveller handles their weekend lodging and transport to the Winelands.
A clear split-billing protocol and expense claim guide avoids back-and-forths after the trip and ensures financial transparency. Encourage travellers to book leisure extensions through the same travel platform to streamline invoicing and approvals.
In high-risk environments like the Niger Delta or Cabo Delgado, safety doesn't take a holiday. If a field engineer chooses to stay on for leisure, it's important they still have access to emergency support channels, even if the trip is no longer officially business.
For instance, TravelManor clients can include opt-in support coverage through preferred partners, extending 24/7 emergency contact access into the bleisure period. Alternatively, travellers must sign a waiver acknowledging they'll be navigating the leisure portion independently, with local emergency services contact details provided ahead of time.
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Let's say a logistics planner working on a port development in Dar es Salaam wants to visit Zanzibar for a weekend. Instead of tacking this on ad hoc, your policy should outline a quick, standardised pre-approval process.
Ideally, they notify their line manager or travel coordinator at the time of booking, fill in a bleisure extension form, and get sign-off before departure. This avoids clashing with return-to-office deadlines, ensures safety tracking remains intact, and gives the finance team time to align budget codes.
Using vetted suppliers not only ensures quality but also bundles compliance into the travel experience. Say a geologist finishes a site visit in Luanda and wants to unwind at Mussulo Island.
Instead of booking independently, they can be routed through a preferred local tour operator who understands your corporate standards for health, safety, and ethics. This way, bleisure doesn't mean lowering the bar. TravelManor's local networks in energy-heavy regions across Africa can curate these experiences without compromising your duty of care.
In remote destinations, plans often change. For instance, if a project timeline in Namibia's Walvis Bay is shortened, a technician might gain two unexpected days of downtime.
Having a mobile concierge platform or dynamic travel app allows them to book accommodation in Swakopmund or plan a desert excursion without the usual admin grind. These platforms can also integrate policy nudges (e.g. max stay duration or budget caps), keeping last-minute changes within governance frameworks.
Give your teams the tools they need to bleisure confidently and compliantly. This could be a downloadable PDF with examples like: If you're doing field work in Takoradi, here's how to add two leisure days in Elmina, or flying into Durban for refinery audits? Here's how to safely visit the Midlands Meander after hours.
Provide a travel checklist that includes reminders about who to notify, how to split costs, and what apps to use. First-hand stories from colleagues who've done similar trips help normalise the practice and make it easier to plan well.
LEARN MORE: Why Face-To-Face Business Travel Is Making A Huge Comeback
Energy professionals travel differently. Here are some bleisure formats and why they work:
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For companies operating in the demanding world of oil, gas, and energy, bleisure isn't a fluffy perk; it's a strategic asset. Done right, it improves morale, reduces burnout, enhances regional insight, and positions your organisation as forward-thinking in the talent stakes.
At TravelManor, we specialise in building tailored bleisure experiences for corporate travellers in high-intensity sectors. Whether it's a South African site visit or a pan-African project tour, we work with your schedule and safety requirements to shape seamless add-on escapes. Get in touch to learn more.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where we share top bleisure hacks, deeper destination ideas, and policy tips to help your travel team build smarter itineraries.