American Express's Year 2000 Travel Trends Survey of 360 corporate travelers in December 1999 predicted that the number of international business trips will increase by 29 percent this year, with a third expecting to make more than 15 trips. The annual summer vacation is being replaced by more frequent short breaks as work commitments force executives to spend less time away from the office. More than 50 percent say they took short breaks in 1999 compared to only 13 percent who took long summer holidays. A business trip used to mean getting away from it all. But corporate downsizing and information technology that allows us to be wired at all times has forced business travelers to be more accountable and productive when they're away.
Peripheral tourism is a standard part of our business.
He or she arrives on Friday night, spends the weekend, works Monday and leaves on Tuesday night. Hyatt claims that it furnishes all its rooms ''with the woman in mind,'' even though 90 percent of business travelers are male. Look after long-haul trips and the side trips will look after themselves. You could describe an ideal extension as a kind of planned surprise getaway - the paradox, as Pascal noted, is that thoughtful preparation leads to impromptu discoveries. First, plan your long-haul itinerary for opportunistic stopovers.