The Rise of Bleisure Travel: A New Era for Corporate Events — and Merch — in Florida
- Florida Custom Merch
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
In recent years, business travel has quietly been undergoing a significant shift. The traditional “fly-in, fly-out, meetings-and-fly-home” model is no longer the default for many professionals. Instead, a growing number of corporate travelers are embracing “bleisure” — combining business obligations with leisure time. For providers of corporate event merchandise — from branded swag and apparel to conference welcome kits and promotional gifts — this trend offers both a challenge and a huge opportunity, especially in a state built for both business and vacation: Florida.
What is Bleisure — and Why Is It Surging?
“Bleisure travel” refers to when business trips are extended — by a day, a weekend, or more — to include leisure activities: sightseeing, relaxation, family time, or just downtime after a long series of meetings.
The rise of bleisure is driven by a confluence of factors:
Flexible work models and hybrid/remote work, which give employees more control over their schedules and reduce the friction of traveling.
Changing generational priorities: Millennials (and increasingly Gen Z) value work-life balance and view travel — even work travel — as an opportunity for personal enrichment, not just professional duty.
Corporate acceptance: More companies are formally adopting policies that allow or even encourage bleisure trips.
Hospitality industry adaptation: Hotels and venues increasingly accommodate longer stays, offering amenities and packages suited to longer, blended trips.
Recent data points underline how dramatic the shift has become. For example, one 2025 report notes that the global bleisure travel market is estimated at USD $816.24 billion, with a high growth rate projected through 2034. And according to a recent piece from 2025, bleisure travel demand has grown by over 25% in just the past year.
Clearly: bleisure is no longer a fringe trend — it’s redefining the corporate travel landscape.
Why Florida Is Especially Poised for a Bleisure + Corporate Events Boom
For a destination like Florida — with a powerful tourism infrastructure, beaches, sunshine, and strong appeal to leisure travelers — bleisure isn’t just a side benefit. It can become a strategic growth anchor. Several factors make Florida especially fertile ground.
Florida is already a business-travel & events hub. For instance, Orlando continues to lead the U.S. in meetings and conventions, supported by assets like the Orange County Convention Center and a robust hotel ecosystem.
Strong tourism economy: Tourism in Florida produced a record-setting economic impact of $133.6 billion in 2024, supporting 1.8 million jobs.
Leisure + convenience is baked in: As early as 2019, Florida’s tourism board identified the state as an ideal bleisure destination — partly because travelers can easily combine events with “sunshine-filled skies and seashell-laden beaches, nightlife, outdoor recreation,” etc.
Growing corporate events & group travel: The rebound in corporate events post-pandemic, along with companies embracing hybrid work and team-building retreats, means more multi-day stays where attendees may extend their trips for recreation.
Taken together, Florida isn’t just a beneficiary of the bleisure trend — it’s becoming a hub where corporate and leisure travel fuse.
What This Means for Corporate Event Merchandise
As someone in custom-branded merchandise, you’re uniquely positioned to capitalize on multiple aspects of this trend. Here’s how bleisure travel can reshape demand for branded swag and event merchandise — especially in Florida.
1. Longer stays = more pre-arrival and welcome-kit opportunities
When attendees know they’ll stay beyond the formal event — maybe for a weekend of leisure — event planners have room to rethink their welcome strategies. Instead of just a name-badge and a schedule card, planners might incorporate “welcome kits” that feel vacation-ready — branded water bottles for beach days, tote bags for excursions, casual T-shirts, caps, sunglasses, reusable drinkware, local guidebooks, etc. These kits become souvenirs of both business and leisure.
2. Merch as part of the “destination experience”
Because Florida delivers both business and vacation vibes, organizers may lean into themed merchandise: beach-style apparel, resort-casual swag, and items that highlight the host city (Orlando, Miami, Tampa, the “Paradise Coast,” etc.). That adds emotional value and extends the brand experience beyond sticky-name tags and pens.
3. Higher spend per attendee + captive group demographics
Bleisure travelers tend to stay longer, spend more overall, and engage in more leisure activities. For a merchandise provider, that means each attendee potentially represents greater spend on gifts, souvenirs, and high-quality branded items — more than a typical one-day conference guest would.
4. Corporate culture & incentives become merch drivers
As organizations use offsite events, retreats, and incentive-driven travel to nurture culture and reward employees, custom merchandise becomes part of the package: branded swag for attendees, incentives, gift sets, even “team retreat survival kits.” In Florida destinations — where leisure is literally part of the package — the demand for merch that balances professionalism and vacation-vibes will likely rise.
5. Repeat business and recurring events — merch + souvenirs market
Florida’s strong tourism economy and frequent business-travel return visits (for conventions, exhibitions, etc.) create recurring opportunities. Attendees may come back to the same destination for different conferences — and they may want new merch each time. For merch providers, that means not just one-off event orders, but ongoing, repeat orders from loyal clients.
Challenges — and What Merch Providers Must Watch Out For
Of course, rapid growth and opportunities come with a few caveats and challenges. For merch and event-service providers, that means being strategic:
Coordination with event planners and hotels: Bleisure means events may be shorter than total stay — so welcome-kits or merch drops may need to be delivered pre-check-in or early on, not just during the business part of the event. Logistics and timing become more complex.
Balancing corporate and leisure branding: Some merch needs to stay professional; other merch should feel leisure-friendly. Understanding the client’s brand voice and the nature of the trip is critical.
Sustainability and value mindset among bleisure travelers: Many bleisure travelers value experiences and convenience over excess — meaning quality over quantity, reusable items over disposable ones, and merch that “makes sense” for a blended trip.
Flexibility in order sizes and product mix: Bleisure-driven events may have fluctuating attendance (some bring family or friends, some stay longer), so merch providers need flexible supply chains and modular offerings (e.g., basic kits + optional leisure add-ons).
Strategic Recommendations for Merch Providers in Florida
Given the above — and given your role in custom-branded merchandise — here are some strategic suggestions to harness the bleisure surge:
Develop “Bleisure-Ready Merchandise Packages”: Build product bundles aimed at corporate events in leisure destinations: e.g., “Welcome & Weekend Pack” (badge + notebook + branded water bottle + beach tote + sunscreen), “Team Retreat Pack” (apparel + reusable tumbler + local guide + branded cap), etc.
Partner with hotels, resorts, and destination planners: Collaborate with local venues — especially in top bleisure hotspots like Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Paradise Coast — to become their preferred merch supplier for corporate events + incentive trips.
Position merch as part of the destination experience: Design merch with regional appeal — beach-themed apparel, Florida-branded souvenirs, resort-casual gear — to make them more desirable for bleisure travelers.
Offer flexible ordering, on-demand duplication and restocks: Since bleisure events often attract companion guests (family, friends), create systems for last-minute orders, add-ons, or extra souvenir merch.
Emphasize sustainability and practicality: Given that many bleisure travelers appreciate quality and utility, offer items that are reusable, travel-ready, and align with eco- or wellness-conscious travelers (e.g., reusable water bottles, eco-friendly tote bags, quality apparel).
Macro Outlook: Bleisure + Corporate Events = Growth Engine for Florida’s Tourism & Merch Ecosystem
From a broader economic perspective, the rise of bleisure travel in Florida aligns with, and helps sustain, the state’s booming tourism sector. In 2024, tourism’s economic impact in Florida reached $133.6 billion — with 1.8 million jobs supported across hotels, restaurants, retail, entertainment and more.
Meanwhile, regions like Central Florida reported record tourism-driven economic growth, with visitor spending continuing to climb.
For corporate event planners and merch providers, this represents a mid-term structural shift: bleisure isn’t just a temporary pandemic-era trend — it’s a redefinition of how business travel works. And for a state like Florida, it’s a convergence of business, leisure, and tourism that can deliver new revenue streams, recurring clients, and diversified opportunities across hospitality, events, and merchandise.
Conclusion: Bleisure Is More Than a Trend — It’s a Shift in Corporate Travel Culture
The rise of bleisure travel represents a fundamental change in how companies — and workers — view business travel. It’s no longer just about meetings and efficiency. It’s about blending productivity with life, combining work obligations with leisure, family, and personal time.
For Florida, with its unmatched leisure appeal and robust event infrastructure, that shift is a boon. And for merch providers — especially those like you in custom-branded merchandise — it opens a new, evolving market. By aligning products with bleisure sensibilities — mixing professionalism with vacation flair, utility with destination vibe — you can position your offerings as indispensable to the modern corporate event.
With so many options available, choosing the right branded promotional item can be overwhelming. Since 2016, we, at Florida Custom Merch, have helped numerous businesses achieve success through the use of custom branded promotional merchandise. Hiring an expert can help you select the perfect item, save time and money, and, most importantly, maximize your results.
Thank you for reading! We hope you found this article helpful!
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