Bleisure is back and transforming the travel and hospitality sector – ET HospitalityWorld

The travel and hospitality sector is back with a bang. After a rather underwhelming few quarters, largely owing to unprecedented conditions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, the sectors are finally showing some exciting consolidation and growth trends. For instance, the growth rate of the hospitality sector shall be around 8.29 percent in the next 5-year period. The crucial role played by Bleisure in the recovery and further growth of the sector shall be critical.

What is Bleisure
A portmanteau of ‘business’ and ‘leisure’, it refers to the process of combining business activities with leisure. Even though the concept was quite relevant in the past, in the post-pandemic world, the overall traditional boundaries between work and play have blurred, thereby increasing a new category of travellers seeking to balance productivity and pleasure.

Post-covid situation
Compared to traditional travel and hospitality, this specialised sector (bleisure) is expected to witness a CAGR of close to 20 percent in the next decade, thereby making it a highly attractive industry. As bleisure takes account of almost 33 percent of the total travel and hospitality sales around the world, it would be interesting to underline that India ranks second in the world for bleisure travellers in the world due to the wide range of diverse destinations available.

There has been a significant increase in revenues of hotels and travel companies, almost 70 percent more than the pre-pandemic levels. There are different reasons for this surge. With the increase of remote working and flexible work schedules, the lines between work and vacation have blurred more than ever. Indian travellers, earlier confined to rigid work schedules, are now exploring destinations during their business trips. They extend their stays, bring family along, or simply take time off between virtual meetings to explore their surroundings.

There is also a massive role played by hotels and hospitality companies who curate experiences catering to guests’ business and leisure needs. Besides providing all the facilities such as high-speed internet, conference rooms, and picturesque locations to organise local sightseeing and leisure activities; bleisure has reimagined the kinds of services that hotels and travel businesses cater to the guest.

Way forward
Bleisure has given a much-needed push to the travel and hospitality sector. Since the trend has been ongoing previously as well, one could safely conclude that it is not a passing fad but a rather transformative force in the sector. Hotels and travel companies need to constantly innovate and ensure that changing needs of business and leisure travellers could be taken care of.

In embracing this trend, we are not just reviving an industry hit hard by the pandemic but also paving the way for a more flexible, inclusive, and enjoyable approach to business travel and providing professionals a much-needed work-life balance.

– The writer is the cluster general manager for Mosaic Hotels