What is business travel?

Business travel is also called business trip. It is a concept of subdivision in the tourism industry. It mainly involves transportation, migration, accommodation, sports events, cultural or catering activities, banquets, etc. in the hotel industry. The procedures during work are obviously related to the arrangement of meeting rooms and business centers, such as some necessary facilities: paper, projector, screen, internet interface, etc.

Business travel is an important symbol of a host city. Compared with an average of 165 tourists a day, its budget is 260 tourists a day [European data].

Accommodation is usually paid by enterprises or other units at public expense, so individual tourists can spend more money on shopping and entertainment.

In recent years, business tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism projects. Judging from its scale and development, it has become an important part of the world tourism market, and it still has great development potential. According to statistics, among the $3.5 trillion in global tourism revenue every year, $420 billion belongs to business travel expenses of enterprises, accounting for 12% of all tourism revenue, and this proportion will increase with the development of the world economy and the advancement of globalization. At present, the number of global business tourists accounts for about 1/3 of the total number of tourists. Many famous hotel chains in the world have found that business guests account for 53% of global housing tourists and 60% of hotel chains. In recent years, many emerging tourism projects have also promoted the development of business tourism, such as the fastest-growing incentive tourism. At present, there are about11000000 people in the world for incentive travel every year. The international conference market is also developing rapidly. Since the mid-1970s, international conferences have attracted the attention of more and more countries and regions with their extensive influence, high profits and huge market potential. According to experts' estimation, with the recovery of the world economy, the annual global conference income will reach more than $220 billion, and it will increase by 8% ~ 10% every year.

The development of business tourism around the world presents a good trend. In Europe, as a unified big market has been formed, the pace of internationalization of enterprises has accelerated, and the business tourism market has a good development prospect. In the Asia-Pacific region, business tourism has also developed very rapidly, and there is a trend of sustainable development, especially in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and other countries or regions. In addition, the rise of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Chinese mainland has injected new blood into the Asia-Pacific business tourism market. Therefore, the pattern of world business tourism can be described by "East-West development".

(2) The development of business tourism in China.

The stable development of macroeconomic and political situation in China provides a good external environment for active business activities. When the tourism industry in China is changing with each passing day at an unprecedented speed, business tourism, as the main force in the high-end tourism market, is increasingly showing its advantages and potential, and is becoming a cake with rich profits and huge growth. A survey report of American Express Company shows that the development potential of China's business tourism market is amazing, and its scale has reached the level of French, German and other major European countries. If the current growth rate is maintained, it will double in the next five years and become the third largest business tourism market in the world. Generally speaking, the business tourism market in China has the following characteristics:

1, the market scale is increasing year by year.

Experts predict that if the 40 million business people in China travel three times a year on average, the total number of business trips in the whole year will reach about 654.38+0.2 billion. According to a document of the National Tourism Administration in 2003, China spends more than 35.7 billion yuan on international business tourism every year, accounting for 17% of the Asian business tourism market. At present, the number of people going abroad on business, including official business and business trips, has accounted for 53.3% of the number of people going abroad. China's domestic business tourism expenditure is as high as US$ 654.38+070 billion, accounting for about 30.5% of the whole domestic tourism market, and increasing by 20% every year. According to the news released by the National Tourism Administration, from the analysis of the inbound tourism market structure in China, business and conference tourism accounts for 39.9%, which is close to or exceeds the level of some developed countries. In recent years, China has made remarkable achievements in tourism infrastructure construction. More and more countries are sailing with China, and the routes are getting longer and longer. China's relatively perfect foreign-related tourism service system also provides convenience for business travel. China's economic development and various exhibitions and conferences in China have become important magnets to attract business travelers. According to the prediction of the International Conference Association, "China may become the main destination of international conference tourism in 2 1 century". China's entry into WTO, the successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games and the 20 10 World Expo provide good opportunities for the development of business tourism in China.

2. Stable income

Because business tourism is oriented to business or other specific activities, business tourism is usually low in randomness, strong in planning in advance, and strong in activity repetition (especially annual meetings and large-scale activities have fixed time or preset time, and will be held again after a certain time interval). This forms the characteristics of the stability of business tourism: on the one hand, because of the fixed time, it is generally not affected by climatic conditions or some unfavorable conditions (such as poor traffic), and it is the most stable market segment in the tourism market. On the other hand, the repetition of business activities enables business tourism to generate stable tourist flow and income, without obvious seasonal and off-peak differences in other tourism projects.

3. make a profit.

The consumption composition of business tourism determines that the proportion of self-funded tourists is small, and the expenses incurred by business tourists are usually determined according to the internal regulations of the organization or the level standards of business activities, and the price factor is not the decisive factor, so compared with leisure tourism, business tourists have higher consumption capacity. From the purpose of two types of tourism, business travelers pay more attention to service quality, efficiency and convenience. According to statistics, the average daily consumption of business guests is 23% higher than that of tourists. In addition, business tourists stay at their destinations for a relatively long time. So generally speaking, the profit rate of business tourism is as high as 20% ~ 30%, which is much higher than that of ordinary leisure tourism.

3, the market formation period, lack of professionalism.

From the perspective of market cycle, the domestic business tourism market is in the market development period. (1) First of all, this market is divided into countless small regional markets, with many entrants and potential entrants. No enterprise has absolute competitive advantage, and the market is in a state of complete competition for the time being. Secondly, as an independent market segment in the tourism market, the business tourism market has developed rapidly and has not yet formed a stable market scale. (3) Finally, the corresponding rules of this market have not yet taken shape, far from reaching the mature stage.

(3), China business tourism market segmentation and characteristics.

Similar to the consumer structure of business tourism in other countries in the world, the domestic business tourism market in China is mainly composed of the following four sub-markets:

1, general business tourism market

In this market segment, it is mainly composed of consumers engaged in commercial activities. General business tourism activities include exhibitions (such as World Expo, Fashion Festival, sugar and wine parties, etc.). ), business negotiation, marketing, management (such as training and incentive travel) and other business tourism activities. Among them, MICE tourism is the most distinctive and important content in business tourism.

2. Government tourism market

Government officials are another market for business travel. China has the largest number of civil servants in the world, reaching more than 5 million. Business travel generated by various meetings, inspection and research activities every year has formed a market that cannot be ignored.

3. Academic tourism market

In recent years, the academic tourism market has developed rapidly. Under the background of China government's vigorous development of education and science and technology, regional and national academic exchange activities are increasing. According to the statistics of China Wan Fang Data Company, there are more than 1000 national academic conferences every year. There are countless regional academic conferences. With China's entry into WTO, a large number of international academic conferences have been transferred to China. This series of meetings contains huge business opportunities, and its stability and periodicity are really thought-provoking.

4. Other business tourism markets

This market mainly includes all kinds of large-scale sports activities, such as the World Cup, the Olympic Games and other celebrations and commemorative activities.