While the bleisure traveler – someone who extends business trips into vacations – is on the rise, new statistics show that live events play a big factor in decision making.
According to Josh Belkin, vice president of Hotels.com, and colleague Paulo Cunha, vice president of retail and business development, more than 47% of business travelers are searching for live events – such as concerts or music festivals – when considering a tacked-on leisure element.
The two revealed at the Expedia Partner Conference that these travelers are making decisions very close to the trip – up to 43% within one to two weeks in advance, and 41% three to four weeks in advance, and factors such as location, additional cost and how close the trip is to the weekend come into play, as well.
Another trend is that of the “pop culture traveler” – someone who travels for sporting events or entertainment.
“Travel is the new social currency,” Belkin says. “People want to be able to put what they’re doing on social media. Travel is the most talked about category on social media.”
Sports tourism in particular is massive and growing – a market at $91 billion – with one in five people traveling for sports-related reasons.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
More than 20% of adults are sports travelers, and Americans spend $7 billion alone on traveling for youth sports.
Pop culture travelers are also those who seek destinations inspired by their favorite TV shows. From 2014 to 2017, there were 285% more searches for Iceland thanks to Game of Thrones.
International travelers are spending more, staying 1.5 times longer and booking 22 days earlier than domestic travelers.
Chinese travelers, in particular, are taking four trips per year and staying seven days per trip. By 2020, China is projected to be the second largest international feeder to the US market.
* This reporter's attendance at the event was supported by Expedia Inc.