A stat caught me today about the rise of business and leisure travelers.
According to an article published by Forbes, young workers are more likely to commute outside working hours than older workers. Interestingly, though, there aren't huge generational differences here: Millennials account for 38% of business travel.
Gender is another factor to consider when analyzing the typical traveler.
A study conducted by CWT found that women who travel for business are actually more likely than men to take business trips. However, this is offset by the fact that men are more likely to travel first for business.
Companies can also benefit from 'bleisure' (business and leisure) travel, as happier employees are more productive, and the opportunity to enjoy bleisure activities can mean that employees who would otherwise be reluctant to travel for the company become willing to do so. Employees pay for extended travel and entertainment, so entertainment is often less expensive.
Meanwhile, for the travel industry, the rise of bleisure opens up the possibility of business travel guests extending their stays in hotels and subsequently spending more money over the duration of their trip.
The aforementioned Forbes article also points out that 10% of all business trips are bleisure trips, while 16% of all business trip hotel bookings now include a Saturday stay, indicating the possibility of bleisure time or trip extensions.
Additionally, according to Statista, overall business travel is increasing year on year.
This information shows that the bleisure phenomenon is a potentially lucrative market, which is growing and likely to become a greater focus for those in the hotel industry in the months and years ahead.
At Amsa Hospitality, we have set our sights on fresh new ideas to combine business and leisure trips with the highest standards of comfort, reflecting our generous Arab heritage.