Seoul ranks No. 7 among global 'bleisure' destinations; Singapore tops list
Pedestrians walk along Myeong-dong in central Seoul, June 24. Yonhap
Seoul is emerging as a "bleisure" destination. The term, a portmanteau of "business" and "leisure," refers to extending a business trip for the purposes of personal travel.
Weekday hotel bookings by business travelers in Seoul surged 67 percent year-over-year, according to Trip.Biz, the corporate travel service of travel platform Trip.com. Friday check-ins jumped 54 percent, suggesting travelers are extending work trips into the weekend.
Seoul ranked seventh among global business travel destinations this year. Gangnam recorded the most business travel bookings in Seoul, while Myeong-dong led in weekend bookings.
Singapore topped the global ranking for business travel hotel bookings. Bookings there rose 30 percent year-over-year, and it led in longer stays and bookings spanning a weekend.
The skyline of downtown Singapore / Reuters-Yonhap
Among emerging Southeast Asian cities, the Vietnamese destination of Bac Ninh ranked fifth as overall bookings jumped 341 percent. Bookings of at least seven nights in Bac Ninh climbed 818 percent.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.