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Despite often having limited time, it is still important to encourage the business traveller to extend their stay if possible
leisure / fitness facilities open 24 / 7. Further, some establishments have been experimenting with placing fitness gear and equipment in-room in a limited way.
Further to this we have to consider changing demographics, in particular the millennials with their own often unique perspective.
They are completely dependent on digital technology and use it through mobile devices much more frequently than the average business tourist.
Not only this, but they are much more likely to be dissatisfied if there are issues with digital access.
A recent in-depth survey across north America found that WiFi is the number one amenity for frequent business travellers generally, surpassing breakfast and gym / leisure facilities.
That being said, the same survey found that the business traveller increasingly wants to combine activities, such as reviewing a PowerPoint presentation whilst fitting in a workout.
Such efficient and creative use of time is something that hotels, conference venues and even airports need to be catering to much more for today’ s business traveller.
Getting more creative in what we provide, making things easier and more achievable for business people whilst on the move, and in-house in our hotels and conference venues can only result in more satisfied customers that recommend us and return.
Despite often having limited time, it is still important to encourage the business traveller to extend their stay if possible, and to engage more fully as leisure tourist.
This extends their footprint and their spend in the region they are visiting and adds value to what may encourage them to return again, thus building loyalty. What we now call‘ Bleisure’ – mixing business travel with leisure and tourism activities.
Despite time constraints this is something research shows many business travellers would like to do more.
So we need to find ways to make it easier for them, to encourage them and to make it worth their while with excellent experiences that really do add value to their trip.
It is crucial therefore, that we have managers in the industry coming through that have studied and understand these aspects specifically and in the wider tourism context that surrounds it. Managers that understand the emerging needs of the new breed of business tourist and everything that needs to be utilised in a strategic way to capture those tourists, ensure they have a top quality experience and that they will return to us again.
At the Ulster University Business School, through programmes such as our BSc in International Travel and Tourism Management, we are educating the next generation of such managers.
Our tourism graduates fully appreciate and understand such issues and how to harness them in the most effective way for business success.
Our industry needs such graduates who have taken a course that combines cutting edge areas of business and management but tailors and focuses them specifically on the tourism industry – an industry that has great momentum at the present time and is so crucially important to Northern Ireland’ s economic development going forward.