„Over a third of all foreign business travellers took the option of combining their business trip to Germany with a private stay in 2023, according to the German National Tourist Board (GNTB). This made Germany the No. 1 Bleisure destination in Europe and No. 3 worldwide in 2023.“
The number of business trips in Germany is slowly recovering towards 2019 levels. MICE trips, i.e. trips to trade fairs, congresses, incentives and events, are growing faster than traditional business trips. At the same time, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) emphasises that the overlap between business and leisure travel is growing due to work-life balance issues and sees new opportunities for tourism service providers – above all as an effective contribution to greater sustainability, according to the conclusion of recent studies commissioned by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) and the German Convention Bureau (GCB) from IPK International.
Bleisure as a sustainable initiative in Germany
With more than one in three foreign business travellers taking advantage of bleisure opportunities in Germany in 2023, the country ranked first as a bleisure destination in Europe and third worldwide, followed by the USA in first place and Mexico in second place. Germany was followed by France and Spain. As a result, the GNTB has launched a Stay Longer initiative to enable international guests in Germany to reduce their environmental footprint per day of travel by extending the length of their stay.
Matthias Schultze, Managing Director of the GCB, also emphasises the opportunities in combination with MICE offers: “Around a quarter of bleisure trips to Germany worldwide are traditional business trips and three quarters are in the MICE segment. 43 percent of participants in congresses, 31 percent of travellers to meetings/conferences and 41 percent of visitors to trade fairs/exhibitions take the opportunity to combine their business trip to Germany with a holiday or private stay.”
Bleisure Traveller as an economic factor
Business travellers currently spend an average of 6.7 nights in Germany – in the bleisure sector, this figure is 8.8 nights. More than two thirds of bleisure travellers stay at least four nights.
Bleisure is also becoming an economic focus for tourism: at 1,767 euros, expenditure per person and trip to Germany is significantly higher than that of pure business trips at 1,432 euros. High-quality accommodation is particularly popular: 47 per cent of bleisure travellers book first-class hotels, 14 per cent mid-range hotels and only 2 per cent budget accommodation. Almost one in three choose other paid accommodation such as a serviced flat, while only 7 per cent stay with friends and family.
Foto: iStock_katleho-Seisa
