Canadian professionals aged 18-34 are leading the rise in the ‘bizcation’ trend with a growing desire to blend remote work and vacations, according to a new study by Allianz Global Assistance, which found that almost half (47%) of young professionals plan to work remotely while travelling in 2024.

Bizcations are an emerging trend in the workplace, where employees can work and travel simultaneously without taking time off. It can also include tacking on a few days before or after a business trip.

The increasing prevalence of remote work options has empowered young professionals to work virtually anywhere and according to the seventh annual Allianz’s Vacation Confidence Study, with 17% of Canadians aged 18-34 claiming that the stress and time of planning to take time off work is a considerable barrier to them planning a vacation this year.

This demographic’s enthusiasm for bizcations represents a paradigm shift in how work and travel are integrated, opening up new opportunities to enjoy a healthier work-life balance, says Alliance, which adds that bizcation phenomenon has reshaped the way individuals approach work and travel.

Key findings of the report include:

• Many Canadians will tie-in a vacation with work responsibilities either by working remotely from a vacation destination (30%) or by adding vacation time to a business trip (24%)
• Canadians with children (43%) are also likely to blend work and vacation in the same trip
• There has been a shift in Canadians’ destination preferences – beyond Canada, Mexico/Caribbean (24%) and the US (21%) are the most popular vacation destinations this year.

Allianz’s study found that roughly a third of those taking a bizcation this year plan to be away for a considerable amount of time – about three weeks or longer.