From business to pleasure

American Demographics, August, 1991 by Judith Waldrop

The business traveler from out of town is still looking for a good time. But fewer of these party hounds are drinking to excess or wearing lampshades on their heads. Today, when business mixes with pleasure, the family is likely to join in.

Only 28 percent of all business travelers take another member of their household along on their trips. But half of business travelers who extend a trip for recreational purposes bring another household member, according to the U.S. Travel Data Center.

"Chicago has wonderful museums, restaurants, and shopping. It's a great place to take your spouse," says Bernice Rosmarin, an agent at VTS/Edison Travel in Edison, New Jersey. Major urban areas like Chicago, New York City, and Baltimore are perfect for business travelers who want to add some leisure activities to their trips, she says. "A good travel agent will let them know that opportunities exist."

The peak months for business trips are August through November. Summer vacationers give the travel industry an extra boost in August. And every year, more travelers are mixing business with pleasure.

Between 1987 and 1989, the total number of business trips taken within the U.S. grew from fewer than 160 million to nearly 170 million, according to the U.S. Travel Data Center. During this same period, the share of business trips that were extended to include leisure activities increased at the rate of 1 percentage point a year. Nearly one in every four business travelers in 1989 included some time for recreation. Half of these travelers arranged leisure activities that doubled the length of a stay. Business travelers are especially likely to arrange this type of vacation when their meeting takes place at a resort.

Low round-trip air fares often depend on a Saturday night stay, so employers frequently save money when employees stretch their business trips, explains Rosmarin. Sometimes the savings in air fare is enough to justify the expense of spending Saturday night in a hotel. Business-oriented hotels are more likely to be filled from Monday through Friday. To encourage business travelers to stay, they offer special weekend rates.

People who combine business trips with pleasure activities are most likely to be younger (under the age of 35) or older (age 45 or older) than other business travelers. Frequent business travelers are also less likely than occasional travelers to extend any given trip for leisure pursuits. Twenty-four percent of all business trips include leisure activities, compared with 13 percent of trips taken by business travelers who take ten or more business trips each year. Still, most business travelers average only 5 trips each year, while frequent business travelers average 19.

Business travelers who add leisure activities are less affluent than those who don't. Forty percent of pleasure-seeking business travelers have household incomes of less than $35,000, compared with 35 percent of all business travelers. More than one-third (37 percent) of the pleasure-seekers are self-employed, compared with 29 percent of all business travelers; 51 percent use their own cars, compared with just 44 percent of all business travelers.

Women are increasingly likely to take business trips. Between 1987 and 1989, the number of business trips taken by women increased from 47 million to 54 million. Today, they are one-third of all business travelers. And 28 percent of women combine pleasure with their business trips, compared with 22 percent of men.

Business women are more likely than men to be visiting a place for the first time, so they may have a greater incentive to stay and explore. But fewer business women earn top salaries, so they also may be more likely to take a vacation if some of the expenses are covered by the company.

For more information on business and pleasure travel, contact the U.S. Travel Data Center in Washington, D.C., at (202) 293-1040. For more information on summer vacations, see page 32.

     Demo Memo

What 6-to-12-year-olds
want to take with them
on vacation:

Book         71%
Video game   68%
Family pet   53%
Batman       16%

Source: Hyatt Hotels, 1990