Bleisure Travel: Fact or fiction?

SINGAPORE  Not convinced that Bleisure is a real travel segment that travel executives can tap, we asked Singapore Tourist Board, which is highlighting the segment in its latest marketing efforts, to connect the dots. Just who are Bleisure travellers?
Singapore Tourism Board director, exhibitions & conferences, Andrew Phua, fielded the questions.
Who are Bleisure travellers and what data is out there to identify them for your campaigns?
According to research by the Global Business Travel Association, Bleisure travellers tend to be Millennials or Generation Y. This market segment is the most inclined to own smartphones and to use mobile apps to communicate and carry out tasks. About 43% of Millennials in Asia are inseparable from their smartphones[1] and prefer to access and pay for services and products instantly via tools and apps.
Is the pressure on business travel budgets and restrictive travel polices a deterrent for a campaign that asks business travellers to take time out?

inside no 5Interestingly, we have found that Asian business travellers are willing to consider extending their business trips for leisure purposes. Even business travellers who are unable to extend their trip often choose to spend their free hours exploring the vicinity or eating local food. This offers good opportunities for the travel industry to find new ways to meet the needs of the Bleisure traveller.
What’s new about Bleisure? Critics might say it is a contrived category and that the trend is as old as the hills? Why is segmenting Bleisure so important for the STB?
Bleisure itself is not a new concept but the need to segment such business travellers from other travel segments has become increasingly important to fully unlock the potential of this significant market in Asia. By understanding the needs and psychographics of Bleisure travellers, we hope to curate a seamless experience for visitors to Singapore.
The concept of Bleisure is applicable across different categories of business travellers and is an extension of the business travel experience. It suggests the option of taking additional time before, during, or after a business trip to experience the destination beyond the business venue, and attract them to be repeat visitors. This leisure component can even be incorporated into the official business itinerary. For example, our TravelRave programme is complemented by the RaveOn tours that showcase the latest leisure offerings in Singapore.
How will technology help to develop Bleisure travel for Singapore? What additional services, products or infrastructure are needed for Singapore to cater to this market segment?
inside no 5.1 Andrew Phua
Andrew Phua
Technology can help to develop Bleisure travel for Singapore by ensuring that all our visitors have a good mobile and online experience before they even arrive in Singapore. For example, when we revamped our consumer website YourSingapore.com last year, we designed it for mobile devices first, instead of starting from the desktop. This means that everything on the website, from the content to the images and user experience, are customised for smaller touch screens. The website also makes use of GPS to help users navigate – based on their location – to the attractions we have in Singapore, and other places of interest around them.
We are also partnering travel trade players such as TripAdvisor to amplify user-generated content like reviews and experiences by real travellers. Travel is on top of the list of must-share experiences. It is estimated that three in four travellers use social media when they are on vacation. We want to encourage visitors to Singapore to share their stories, tips and experiences with their friends and family. Their reviews can help other travellers experience Singapore better, and inspire new visitors to come here.
TripAdvisor’s new online hub called “Live Like A Local” captures these stories and experiences through the eyes of visitors and the people who live in Singapore. Launched in May, it showcases Singapore’s hidden gems using user-generated content that resides on TripAdvisor.
To get more fans to engage with us on social media, we also promote a consistent hashtag – #YourSingapore. This is the same hashtag we share with the influencers and personalities we work with globally and locally, so that their fans become our fans too. Ultimately, we feature fans’ content on our platforms such as Instagram, where we have about 30,000 user-generated images to date.
The new YourSingapore.com site also integrates selected images from Instagram, has real-time feeds from Twitter and real user reviews from TripAdvisor and FourSquare. This way, visitors to the website can get inspired by travellers who are just like them, and get all the information they need from the official STB source at the same time.
Could you outline timeframes, targets and investment STB has set to develop Bleisure and how will you measure success?
STB is developing the Bleisure segment by expanding the scope of our leisure travel marketing efforts to target business travellers seeking leisure experiences in Singapore after working hours. These efforts include:
The launch of a digital and advertising campaign targeted at BTMICE visitors from Asia Pacific in June 2015 to publicise Singapore’s Golden Jubilee celebrations and activities. For instance, the campaign was promoted through advertisements placed at MICE venues and over various online and offline platforms owned by private event organisers.
The launch of a precinct guide for business travellers in March 2014. The guide is updated bi-annually and the latest version (March 2015) can be found here: http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/dam/MICE/Global/downloads/BT_Post_Arrival_Brpdf
[1] Visa: Connecting with the Millenials 2012

sourced:ttrweekly.com