New research from Barclaycard Business reveals that 45 percent of all business travelers are actively trying to improve time spent away by taking their on a business trip. Dispelling the myth of “playing away” while traveling on business, it’s the men who are most likely to take their partners with them, with nearly half of them (49 percent) having done so compared with just under a third (29 percent) of their female counterparts.

In small companies, nearly two-thirds (61 percent) have taken their partner on a business trip, compared to just 36 percent of those in companies with between 500 and 1,000 employees.

Tim Carlier, Barclaycard Business, comments: “Having company on a business trip can not only make the actual traveling less mundane but also enable professionals to make the most of any downtime during evenings or weekends.”

The tenth annual Barclaycard Business Travel Survey also shows that there are two distinctive types of business traveler in existence. Almost eight out of ten people (78 percent) enjoy traveling for business but the remaining 22 percent find it incredibly stressful and the part of their role they would happily live without.

The fans of business travel see it as a rewarding way to introduce variety into their routine (66 percent), a great way to see the world (62 percent) and experience other cultures (51 percent). In addition, 15 percent enjoy being given the chance to collect via frequent flier schemes.

In 2005, one fifth (20 percent) actually reduced the amount they traveled compared to the previous year, with one in seven doing so to improve their work/life balance.

Nearly half (45 percent) of business travelers say they are traveling for business more in 2005/06 than they were in 2004/05. In contrast, actual miles traveled per month have decreased from 642 in 2004/05 to 608.5 in 2005/06. Looking further back, however, business travel has increased by 32 percent since 1996/97, based on miles traveled per month. Business travel is set to grow by 17 percent, with each business traveler clocking up approximately 712 miles per week by 2015.

The increase will primarily be driven by overseas expansion and a continued need for face-to-face meetings. These trends are likely to encourage longer, less-frequent trips in place of short, regular weekly trips.