Going out for a nice meal tops the list of leisure activities people engage in while traveling for business, according to a survey conducted by GO Airport Express, a Chicago-based ground transportation provider.
Twenty-seven percent of the almost 200 survey participants selected that option; the second most popular answer was taking a tour/participating in a local activity at 16 percent. Tied for third place at 13 percent was visiting with friends or working.
Almost nine percent of respondents say they use they use their free time to shop, while seven percent say they catch up on reading. Exercise and surfing the Internet are next, at six and four percent respectively. Three percent responded they watch TV and two percent go to bars. Less than two percent use the hotel spa facilities and services. Last on the list was going to a local networking event, at less than one percent.
“The top two choices of dining out and taking tours indicate business travelers prefer to spend their free time outside their hotel rooms engaged in social activities,” says John McCarthy, president, GO Airport Express. Hotel properties might benefit from making it easy for guests to find and get to venues and attractions they would enjoy.”
GO Airport Express provides airport shuttles to and from O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airports, polled travelers nationwide.
One of the oldest companies in Chicago, GO Airport Express traces its founding to 1853 and the Parmelee Transportation Company, which provided a carriage service between Chicago’s railroad stations and the downtown hotels. It is a founding member of The GO Group LLC, the nation’s largest airport transportation provider, serving some 60 airports in North America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe and transporting more than 13 million passengers per year.