Events happen around the world every day. The majority of people who attend these events live within easy travelling distance of the event venues. For event planners, this usually means they rely on locals to achieve maximum attendance. However the popularity of bleisure travel, the practice of including a holiday on a business trip, means event planners now have the ability to attract a wider audience from around the world.

This wider pool of attendees has a two-fold positive effect. Firstly, organisers can target a larger audience which means higher attendance. Secondly, new speakers and talent can be encouraged to attend which increases the draw of the event.

The 5 Ways Event Organisers Can Boost Events With Bleisure Travel

1. 1. Sell bleisure in your initial pitch.
      Companies have limited training/travel budgets so unless your event is a requirement within your industry, potential attendees will be reviewing all of their options. This means that you need to do more than just sell your event, you need to sell the location as well.
   2. Pitch to travellers interests.
      The main factors that influence bleisure travel decisions are great food and restaurants (56%), historical monuments and sightseeing (50%), great entertainment in the area (48%) and visiting a famous or iconic location (43%). This makes London event venues particularly attractive. (source: Travolution)
   3. Pair with a travel company to make bleisure easy.
      80% of bleisure travellers spend between 1 and 5 hours researching their travel. That is far less time than people booking a traditional holiday. That means any help you can provide with research and booking of leisure activities will increase your events bleisure appeal. Pairing with a travel company can also develop into a secondary source of revenue as you can get a referral fee from the travel agency, hotel or other business. (source: Travolution)
   4. Find the right places to advertise.
      The best method of doing that really depends on your industry. If you are in tech you may want to use targeted paid advertising in other tech hub cities. Education events may wish to target areas with universities using the same method. Another option could be to look at competing conferences. Because these events have traditionally been held near their potential audiences this might be an area to target.
   5. Make sure you offer the maximum notice period.
      Attendees may need to book time off as will their family. There is often a budget sign off process for travel as well. Event planners need to get their marketing and advertising done well ahead of time to target bleisure opportunities. The best way to estimate how far ahead your marketing should be is to look at how much notice people must give for vacation and go from there.

If you follow these steps and get your event in front of potential bleisure attendees early, you have a great chance of improving your attendance. You will also be boosting the awareness and brand recognition for your event in for the following year.

If you are looking at booking an event in the London area, Glaziers Hall is the perfect choice for bleisure. We are close to all the major landmarks, fine dining and located in the centre of one of the most iconic cities on earth. Contact us today to learn more.