Bleisure Travel Reimagined: Implications for Research

Abstract

Bleisure (or Business Leisure) travel growth in recent times has meant a greater focus must be placed on the needs of the corporate traveller who wants to indulge in some leisure activities during their trip. For this keynote presentation, the presenter explored current studies on bleisure travel and reimagined business travel as a means to achieve an end, where leisure travel may be the end itself, especially among academics. This notwithstanding, future studies on bleisure travel are needed to not only identify the actual needs or motivations of specific bleisure traveller groups, but also the variables affecting their choices, in a highly dynamic industry. The rise of bleisure travel means travellers who are willing to spend more money and stay longer, which is good news for the travel business.

Business Travel Motivations and Objectives of Trade Fairs Visitors: Experience From the Trade Fairs in Thessaloniki, Greece

“…Specifically, Millennials (individuals born between early 1980s and the mid-1990s) and Gen Z visitors (those born between late 1990s and early 2000s) exhibit a significantly higher propensity to prioritize entertainment alongside business objectives. This trend is also confirmed in the literature, where it seems that bleisure tourism is a trend of the younger generations (Caicedo-Barreth et al, 2020;Dragomir et al, 2021;Ezeuduji, 2024). This trend, combined with the fact that trade fairs are events with complex socio-spatial dimensions , lead to significant impacts on host areas, that are mainly economical (Kim and Chon, 2009;Oxford Economics, 2012;Lee et al, 2013;, but also social and political (Wallstam et al, 2020;Kourkouridis et al, 2023;Chen, 2023).…”

“…Therefore, business tourism demonstrated notable resilience, adapting to the circumstances and swiftly reverting to pre-Covid levels (UFI, 2023). An important characteristic of business travelers that differentiates them from leisure travelers is that although they stay for less time in the destination, they spend larger amounts Ezeuduji, 2024), a key motivating factor for business tourism promotion. However, although there is a conceptual dichotomy between work and leisure (Unger et al, 2016), business tourism is often transformed into or combined to leisure tourism (Marques and Santos, 2016).…”

“…This is an important research finding for destination management. In a fiercely competitive market, business event destinations must find ways to differentiate themselves, not so much through individual parts of the tourism product, such as venues and event facilities, but as an integrated whole for visitors (Buhalis, 2000;Ezeuduji, 2024).…”

“…This trend, combined with the fact that trade fairs are events with complex socio-spatial dimensions , lead to significant impacts on host areas, that are mainly economical (Kim and Chon, 2009;Oxford Economics, 2012;Lee et al, 2013;, but also social and political (Wallstam et al, 2020;Kourkouridis et al, 2023;Chen, 2023). Although a significant part of the literature shows that the reasons for attending trade fairs are strictly economic, there is evidence to suggest that a destination offering leisure opportunities may be preferred (Buhalis, 2000;Ezeuduji, 2024). Sohaili et al (2022) literature review shows that bleisure travelers' main motivations to participate in leisure activities are: (a) seeking knowledge and novelty, (b) escape, and (c) fun and resting.…”

“…There are many findings related to economic objectives (Berne and Garcia-Uceda, 2008;UFI, 2017), but the factor of the destination itself has not been extensively studied. Although, business travel is usually quite rigid, and choosing a destination is frequently difficult for travelers, destinations with leisure opportunities are generally preferred for business trave l (Buhalis, 2000;Ezeuduji, 2024). After all, the clear distinction between business travelers and leisure travelers seems to have been questioned in recent years, as it is found that these two concepts often overlap (Kachniewska, 2016).…”