A study developed by Amadeus with passengers from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia found that the Brazilian corporate traveler is, among the four countries surveyed, the most advantageous trips to work to visit tourist attractions, or extend the stay to take advantage of the job as soon as the job is finished.
Called bleisure, this trend has become especially important in recent years, with the greater flexibility of companies in relation to the scale of their employees’ work, and it is an opportunity for agencies that serve corporations to increase their meet the traveler as an individual.
The survey found that 97% of Brazilian travelers take the trip to work to do at least one tourist action, whether visiting a monument or shopping, or even traveling to other places. The number drops to 87% in Colombia, 85% in Mexico and 79% among Argentines.
“The survey came to confirm something that the travel market has been identifying informally for some time. It is the profile of the Brazilian to take advantage of the opportunities to enjoy beyond the labor obligations. This reflects a greater openness in corporate policies and is also an opportunity for agencies and suppliers, “said Paulo Rezende, Amadeus’s commercial director in Brazil. Although the study identified this strong trend among Brazilian corporate travelers, it also showed that agencies still under-exploit the lucrative potential of the “bleisure” trend in the nation.
The survey found that 48% of Brazilians seek information and reservations from the tourist part of their corporate trips with the agency that made the purchase by the company. In Argentina, this number is 50%. But those are small amounts compared to other means of buying bleisure. The question of how corporate travelers made such reservations had multiple answers, in which online agencies (92% of respondents), metasearchers (87%) and suppliers’ websites (75%) stood out.
“With every number that the science of statistics gives us, we are more certain that productivity is something without limits. Agencies need to work with businesses to determine a clear program of assistance to the bleisure traveler, and corporations also have a role, setting clear rules for the traveler to feel safe to be acting within the company’s policy. Apparently, these two factors are a little behind in Brazil, because there is no reason to stop using the service of the agent who is already helping you, “argues Paulo Rezende.
Traveler Tribes
The study by Amadeus also measured how the Brazilian traveler is located within the six tribes identified by the Traveler Tribes 2030 study. Respondents read two statements referring to a particular tribe and could indicate which of them he agreed with. If the respondent adhered to both assertions, it meant that he was very identified with a tribe. He could also be slightly identified (1 assertive) and nothing identified (none).
The tribe with the highest penetration in Brazil is that of the Cultural Purists, with 80% of the travelers having some identification with it. Cultural purists like to experience local experiences as they are, without much influence from external factors. Secondly, there came the Simplicity Hunters, who basically seek to avoid difficulties during the total experience, from purchase to arrival.
Also well positioned are the Searchers of Social Capital, with 70%. This traveler seeks to share his experiences on social networks to generate interaction with his acquaintances. The Amadeus study heard 1,000 travelers in four countries by 2017.
Source: Brasilturis
Photo: Press Release