Bleisure – the practice of combining business travel and leisure travel into one trip – is booming and presents itself a viable revenue segment for travel companies to tap.
According to Expedia Group Media Solutions’ latest report Unpacking Bleisure Traveller Trends which sampled 2,500 bleisure travellers from China, Germany, India, U.K., and the U.S., 60 percent of business trips turned into bleisure. This is consistent with U.S. numbers where bleisure travel has grown by 40% since 2016 when 43% of U.S. business trips were extended to bleisure.
The chances of an extended bleisure trip are highest at 50% when the business traveller has to stay between 2 to 3 nights for business, and least likely (12%) when staying for just one night.
Leading factors for business travellers to consider staying on for leisure? Great entertainment and city activity (48%). A must-visit location that is on a bucket list is also reason enough to stay on (43%).
What makes a great bleisure destination (Credit: Expedia)
Fifty-six percent said they are more likely to consider a bleisure trip in a destination with great food and restaurants, closely followed by approximately 50 percent influenced by beaches, weather, nature, historical monuments or sightseeing. This underscores the importance of experiences and activities for all travellers, the report said.
“The study provides a deeper look at the influences and motivations of the growing and valuable bleisure audience, and the actionable insights will empower marketers to strategically target and convert these travellers within the condensed research and booking window,” said Andrew van der Feltz, Senior Director, EMEA & APAC for Expedia Group Media Solutions. “By showcasing unique experiences and activities, which are influential factors during the decision-making process, every destination, hotel, restaurant, attraction, airline, and more, can entice business travellers to extend their trip for leisure.”
Because most bleisure travellers spend less time researching about the trip (both in the inspiration and planning phases), travel marketers have a shorter window to strategically target and influence behaviour and purchases call to action messaging. It was also noted that bleisure travelers may not book everything in advance, highlighting opportunities to reach and convert travellers in-trip – especially for ancillary products like dining, tours and activities, entertainment and transportation.
To download the full report, click here.
