Business travel is all too often associated with negatives — climate change, stressed workers — but can it contribute to a better world? Taking a cultural travel approach when you travel for work could make all the difference.
When you think of business travel, what do you imagine? Packing up at the office, heading to the airport, jetting off to your client or conference destination, spending a few days in a nondescript mix of hotels and meeting rooms, and then heading home?
If so, you may want to update your view of business travel. Already, the rise of “bleisure travel” has made business travel more rewarding for Travelers. During a business trip, it’s not uncommon for Travelers to arrive in their destination early or stay later than business necessitates to enjoy a little leisure time. Some even bring their families along.
While this trend can certainly do a lot for business Travelers who may need to be encouraged to use a little PTO, what about changes that we could make, that could benefit the destinations?
Where Cultural Travel Comes In
In leisure travel, cultural travel is already a big deal. It’s sometimes referred to as experiential travel or immersive travel. This trend encourages Travelers to get away from the overcrowded tourist hubs and explore smaller locales.
Once there, Travelers make an effort to spend their travel dollars with the locals. They stay at small, local hotels. They eat at local restaurants. They enjoy locally run tours and similar activities. This supports the local economy, while ensuring the Traveler enjoys a more authentic experience.
Sustainability is also a big part of cultural travel. Many who’ve embraced the trend realize that all of this locally focused spending hardly does any good if you’re destroying the environment in the process. As such, many cultural Travelers will likewise go out of their way to find environmentally friendly hotels and similar providers, as well as to choose greener transportation. When the latter is not an option, some may choose to offset their carbon footprint via carbon credits.
This concept of cultural travel can be applied to business travel as well — so why hasn’t it been? In honor of the convergence of Self Improvement Month (September) and World Tourism Day on Sept. 27, consider becoming a cultural Traveler and cultural ambassador during your next business trip. Here’s how.
How to Become a Cultural Traveler During Your Next Business Trip
1. Go local
The first step is exceptionally straightforward. Get out of the office, step away from meetings in the boardroom and actually engage in the local culture. While it might not always be up to the individual Traveler to choose their hotel or meeting venue, you can choose to frequent local restaurants and attractions during your free time.
If you can, try to get out of the busier business districts as well, where you’re often surrounded by chains and international corporations. Seek out the smaller neighborhoods and the businesses run by and for the locals. That way, your spending contributes to the local economy rather than the bottom line of some corporation in another country.
2. Give back
One of the big elements of cultural travel, whether you’re traveling for business or leisure, is voluntourism. While you may have limited free time during a business trip if you do have a day free (say, if you decided to turn your business trip into a bleisure trip), consider engaging in some volunteer opportunities.
If you’re planning a group outing as part of a broader team trip and you need to plan a team-building activity, look to volunteer opportunities in this instance, too.
No time to give back with a volunteer project? Consider “buying” karmic carbon credits by making a donation to the local community.
3. Travel sustainably
As alluded to, cultural travel and sustainable travel go hand in hand. Make sure that you’re traveling sustainably through each leg of your trip as much as possible.
If you must fly to your destination, consider offsetting your personal carbon footprint. Once in your destination, try to live sustainably by choosing greener transportation options and simply following green travel best practices. Even the tiniest choices can make a difference. Request no single-use plastics when you pick up a meal on the go. Remember to turn off all the lights and electronics in your hotel room before heading out for the day.
As an added benefit, walking around your destination, or taking public transportation, can help make your trip more immersive. You’ll be traveling right next to the locals.
4. Try something new.
If you’re not one to step out of your comfort zone very often, you may find that during a business trip, you tend to seek out those comfortable, familiar spots. Maybe you stay with the same hotel chain over and over again. Maybe you seek out the same international restaurant chains.
However, to be a true immersive or cultural Traveler, you have to get out of those comfort zones and try something new. Try the local cuisine at a local restaurant. Consider staying at a locally run, small hotel. Visit the attractions, museums or notable spots that celebrate the local culture and history.
If you don’t want to go it alone or aren’t sure where to start, consider booking a locally led walking tour during your off time. You can find tours that focus on just about any subject matter that interests you, from food to history to art.
Let JTB Business Travel Take Care of the Difficult Parts of Travel So You Can Focus on the Fun
Occasional hassles and stressors aside, as any avid business Traveler will tell you, there’s just something fun about the process, being in a new destination and — best of all — being paid to be there. Let JTB Business Travel take care of the minutiae of business travel so you can focus on the more rewarding elements of travel, like becoming a cultural Traveler.
From booking to expense reporting to helping out when the unexpected happens, see what all the JTB Business Travel team can do for you.
