Bleisure Travel Reimagined: Implications for Research Ikechukwu O. Ezeuduji Department of Recreation and Tourism, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zululand, Private Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa ORCiD: 0000-0001-6437-427X ezeudujii@unizulu.ac.za Abstract: Bleisure (or Business Leisure) travel growth in recent mes has meant a greater focus must be placed on the needs of the corporate traveller who wants to indulge in some leisure acvies during their trip. For this keynote presentaon, 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 idenfy the actual needs or movaons of specific bleisure traveller groups, but also the variables affecng 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. Keywords: Bleisure Travel, Travel Movaon, Market Segmentaon, Business Travel, Leisure Travel 1. Introduction The growth of bleisure travel in recent mes calls for a greater focus to be placed on the needs of the corporate travellers who want to indulge in some leisure acvies during their trip. The phrase "bleisure travel" refers to travel that blends aspects of leisure and business. Usually, it happens when business travellers decide to stay longer in their desnaons, in order to engage in leisure acvies. These acvies can include hiking, sightseeing, vising entertainment venues, or aending events. Travelling for both business and pleasure combined is somemes referred to as a "bizcaon", and it can be advantageous for business travellers, their employers, and the travel industry. The popularity of bleisure travel has grown steadily pre- and post- COVID-19 pandemic. It has been widely argued that the main benefits for the traveller will probably be an increase in confidence and a decrease in tension. Encouraging leisure travel can benefit a company by boosng the proporon of workers who are prepared to travel for work, which can promote morale and increase producvity. The rise of the bleisure tourism means travellers who are willing to spend more money and stay longer, which is good news for the travel business. In this paper, the researcher 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 idenfy the actual needs or movaons of specific bleisure traveller groups, but also the variables affecng their choices, in a highly dynamic industry. 2. Bleisure Travel: Industry Views It is crical to realize that annual spending on business travel is rising. In reality, from 2015 ll 2020, business travel expenditures had increased by six to seven percent annually, according to data released by Stasta (2023). Global business tourism spending again increased slightly in 2022 aſter a significant drop due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, aſter peaking at approximately 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars in 2019, The travel industry has always priorized business travellers due to the potenal for recurring business. Furthermore, Expedia Group (2016) reported that 43% of work visits now involve leisure me. These numbers demonstrate the expansion of business travel overall and the growing importance of leisure in contemporary business travel. Understandably, the emergence of bleisure travel has caused individuals in the travel business to focus on the characteriscs of the typical bleisure traveller. Hotels, travel agencies, restaurants, and other industry parcipants can more effecvely target bleisure travellers with their offers and promoonal content by gaining a beer understanding of who engages in this type of travel. One of the most thorough analyses of the contemporary leisure traveller is provided by a study conducted in collaboraon with Expedia Group and Luth Research (Expedia Group, 2018). According to the study, most leisure travellers (70 percent) travel for work at least once every three months. This indicates that business travellers oſten take regular journeys. According to the same study, business and leisure travellers are employed in a variety of sectors, but the most prevalent ones are technology, healthcare, public administraon, and manufacturing. 2 Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Tourism Research, 2024