Bleisure travel motivations: Balancing work and leisure – a systematic literature review

Abstract

The present study aims to present a systematic literature review of bleisure tourists’ motivations for visiting travel destinations. We used the SLR method to critically review and analyse the previous literature and followed the systematic literature review process using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). The thematic analysis of the studies allowed us to define five key themes: work-related motivations, leisure- and destination-related motivations, psychological motivation, social and lifestyle motivations, and economic motivations. Further investigation showed that city image, cultural heritage, and service quality are the key motives for bleisure travellers. Also, forming social bonds through family travel and collaboration and networking through solo travel are some of the motivations. This study offers insights into bleisure travellers’ motivations and implications for tourism and hospitality managers, policymakers, and service providers. As an important segment of international business travel, stakeholders must better understand this group. Diverse traveller motivations can be targeted to meet their needs, and revisiting current strategies can help the tourism sector better serve this segment. Although interest in bleisure travel motivations is increasing and scholars are paying growing attention to this topic, this review reveals a clear geographic bias, with most studies concentrated in Western and certain Asian countries. Importantly, none of the examined publications address bleisure travel motivations in the context of Oman or the broader Arab region.