Business tourism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Business tourism or business travel is a more limited and focused subset of regular tourism.[1][2] During business tourism (traveling), individuals are still working and being paid, but are doing so away from both their workplace and home.[2]
Some definitions of tourism exclude business travel.[3] However, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".[4]
Primary business tourism activities include meetings, and attending conferences and exhibitions.[2] Despite the term business in business tourism, when individuals from government or non-profit organizations engage in similar activities, this is still categorized as business tourism (travel).[2]
Historically, business tourism takes the form of traveling to, spending money and staying abroad, being away for some time, and has a history as long as that of international trade.[5] In late 20th century, business tourism was seen as a major industry.[6]
According to the 1998 data from the British Tourist Authority and London Tourist Board, business tourism accounted for about 14% of all trips to or within the UK, and 15% of the tourist market within the UK.[7] A 2005 estimate suggested that those numbers for UK may be closer to 30%.[8] Sharma (2004) cited a UNWTO estimated that business tourism accounts for 30% of international tourism, through its importance varies significantly between different countries.[5]
