The four megatrends in business travel in 2024
There are four fascinating megatrends in business travel which affect, among others, business travel and the choice of accommodation. The megatrends were also evident at ITB Berlin, one of Europe's largest travel trade fairs for professionals, held at the beginning of March.
1.3.2024
1. Bleisuring – Combining business and leisure travel
Bleisuring, i.e. combining business and leisure while traveling, is a growing trend worldwide. Travellers want to combine business travel with leisure, and this has a direct impact on their choice of hotel. Bleisure travellers prefer hotels located in city centres, which offer the opportunity to experience the diverse offerings of the destinations. Developing a hotel service culture challenges the industry and is increasingly important, as travellers expect fast and effortless access to information about the hotels, city events, surroundings and trendy restaurants.
2. Wellness – trending among bleisure travellers
Wellbeing and health tourism are strongly rising trends in bleisure travel. Finland, with its closeness to nature, offers an excellent setting for this type of travel. Travellers want to invest in their own wellbeing, and hotels can respond by offering quality services and opportunities for relaxation and pampering.
3. Silence and closeness to nature
With the growing wellness and health tourism, silence and closeness to nature have become very trendy when choosing travel destinations. Helsinki has a reputation as a responsible, leisurely and tranquil city. But why does silence attract tourists? For passengers arriving from noisy and crowded international megacities, Helsinki is perceived as a quiet and peaceful city – just like Finland's other largest cities. In addition, the advantages of Finnish cities are easy and quick access to nature, sea and lake shores and, of course, the forest. Right now, the silence of nature attracts travellers from all over the world.
4. Artificial intelligence – the future of travel
The utilisation of artificial intelligence also in travel is another megatrend. Personalised digital services produced with the help of artificial intelligence at different stages of the journey offer travellers individual experiences and enable a smoother journey. AI can, for instance, help make up for the lack of travel guides by providing customized travel and excursion plans in just seconds. For operators in the travel industry, artificial intelligence can also be a decisive factor when it comes to the shortage of labour in the tourism industry – a challenge especially in the Nordic countries.