Business traveler: extend your business trip and get into the Bleisure trend

The term "Bleisure" stands for a trend in MICE tourism that combines the words Business travel and Leisure Travel, encouraging you to extend the stay of your business trip to get to know the destination and make the most of your journey.

Business trips have never been more desired than now. Thanks to the Bleisure trend, the business traveler from all types of industries who constantly travel for work have the possibility to make the most of their trip and mix business tourism with leisure activities.

The ideal reward for the business traveler who participates in the long days of conventions, exhibitions, commercial conferences, trainings and other activities that the job requires. As such, today it is more common to find these types of travelers extending their stay to carry out touristic activities and enjoy the destination they are in during their trip.

Especially if this destination is one of the many cities in Colombia to practice this trend, such as: Barranquilla, Bucaramanga or a place as special as Villa de Leyva.

Barranquilla, where a business traveler can enjoy the flavor of the Caribbean Coast

Enjoy the wonderful places and activities Barranquilla has to offer during your extended business trip.

Better known as ‘La Puerta de Oro’, or the door of gold, Barranquilla is the largest city in the Colombian Caribbean and one of the happiest in Colombia.

The city is an excellent destination for corporate tourism as it has 9 event centers and about 160 meeting rooms equipped with all the technological requirements needed to hold high-impact business events and meetings. Also, the Caribe Puerta de Oro Events Center stands out with its capacity of 16,000 people and the Jumbo Events Center that can accommodate up to 2,000 attendees.

If you are a business traveler, you should know that Barranquilla has an excellent hotel infrastructure that is culminated in 188 hotels, each of which offer more than 8,500 rooms of all categories. Whether you decide on a room with an ocean view or decide to swim in the rooftop pool of your hotel during your breaks, your stay in this city will always be incredible.

Some of the leisure activities that you can enjoy if you wonder what to do in Barranquilla during your business trip include:

• Take a pleasant walk along the Gran Malecón (Great Pier) and enjoy the colorful Barranquilla sunset in this structure that runs more than three kilometers, allowing you to appreciate the majesty of the Magdalena River and participate in some cultural activities.
• Have dinner in a non-traditional venue like El Salgar Castle. In addition to enjoying a historical monument of colonial architecture, you will be able to appreciate a wonderful sunset while enjoying the delicious gastronomy of the area.
• Come and get to know Cartagena! If you can stay for the weekend or extend your stay for a couple of days, don't miss the opportunity to get to know this wonderful city and its beaches. It is only 2 hours away by road. Rent a car and have fun on this adventure!

It may be of interest: Three Colombian beaches where you can completely switch off.

Bucaramanga, a city that offers so much more than corporate tourism

Discover all the extreme sports you can do in the second deepest canyon in the world.

This city, located in the north of Colombia, is the capital of the Santander region and is also known as ‘The prettiest city of Colombia’ and ‘The city of parks’ as it’s home to over 200 parks. The region stands out for its rich biodiversity which can be appreciated in the various tourist activities that take place there. As a result, it has hosted important events worldwide, especially in the sports field, such as the Tokyo 2020 pre-Olympic games.

Bucaramanga is a city that has excellent connectivity and high-level hotel infrastructure which allows for great events services to hold conferences and conventions. It's wonderful natural landscapes are the ideal backdrop for any type of high impact event. In the same way, it also has convention centers such as Neomundo and G12, with the capacity to receive more than 2,000 people, and a fairground of more than 7,000 m² that can host up to 4,000 attendees.

If your business trip is in this city, we are going to give you three leisure activities that answer the question of what to do in Bucaramanga so that you finally decide to extend your stay:

• Practice extreme sports in the second deepest canyon in the world. In the Chicamocha Canyon you can do paragliding and ride a 15-meter high swing, or cruise on one of the highest cable cars in South America.
• Discover the cultural charm of Barichara, Girón and Socorro. 3 of the 17 towns that are part of the Network of Heritage Towns of Colombia. The most distant is less than three hours from the city by car.
• Visit the coffee farm where one of the best coffees in the world is produced at Hacienda El Roble, El Templo del Café in Colombia. One of the must-see tourist activities around coffee culture.

Discover: Discover the ultimate bucket list of the best tourist attractions in Colombia.

Villa de Leyva, a small town with a huge offer to travelers

Be amazed by the beautiful colonial architecture of Villa de Leyva.

Located less than four hours by road from Bogotá is Villa de Leyva. Considered to be one of the most beautiful towns in Colombia because it mixes the landscape of various ecosystems, such as dry forests and desert, along with the charm of its colonial architecture.

When considering this wonderful destination for holding events, keep in mind that this town has the largest central square in the country. It is about 14,000 m² paved with circular stones that together with the architecture of the buildings that surround it, including the Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario from the 17th century, provides the ideal setting for corporate events.

Although it is a small town, it has an excellent food scene, hotel and touristic offer for those who visit, either for corporate trips or carrying out leisure activities. Some of the places that offer luxury accommodation, and where events can also be held, are the El Duruelo Hotel and Convention Center, the Hotel Casona San Nicolás and the Casa de los Fundadores.

If you decide to extend your stay during your business trip because you are curious about what to do in Villa de Leyva, this is our recommendation:

• Visit the vineyards in the area where, in addition to learning how the different wines they offer are made, you can enjoy a pleasant picnic in the field.
• Enjoy ecotourism in the desert through ecological walks or horseback riding to learn more about the charms of the diversity of ecosystems in the region.
• Discover the largest ceramic in the world: La Casa Terracota. A space for architectural and artistic experimentation that promotes the practice of different arts and crafts.

If you are a business tourist in Colombia, we recommend trying Bleisure and extending your stay so you can discover the wonderful plans that await you in each destination.