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Tourism is a highly fulfilling industry as destinations open their doors to people seeking experiences and making memories. However, one of the biggest challenges for some destinations is seasonality. The seasonal fluctuations between high and low demand can make it difficult to maintain the right infrastructure and service for visitors and ensure regular and predictable income.
This is not a new problem, but the rise in popularity of Workations is offering a new opportunity for destinations to balance demand. This article explores the benefits of attracting Workation travelers for holiday destinations and shares strategies for successfully engaging this audience, including examples of workation destinations that have successfully implemented these models.
Rise of the Workation
A Workation is traveling to a holiday destination in search of relaxation, a change of scenery, or the chance to recharge while continuing to meet your work commitments. Because Workationers are still required to meet their work commitments while traveling, they tend to be looking for things a bit different than your standard holidaymaker.
- Workationers tend to book longer trips, often one to three months, so they have time to explore their destination and dedicate a significant amount of time to work.
- Workationers will prioritize access to fast and secure internet and work-friendly accommodation, with access to a user-friendly office area or coworking facilities.
- Workationers often look for fairly priced options such as self-catering accommodation and discounts for long-term stays.
- Workationers want easy access to activities such as beach visits, hiking trails, and yoga classes so they can flexibly access these activities around their work schedule. They also often take advantage of organized day or weekend trips.
- Workationers will often look for destinations that provide a community or social aspect because they are staying for longer, and therefore making connections and feeling part of a broader community is a higher priority.
Workationers are often attracted to organized “Workation seasons” where they know that will be staying in an area along with other professionals looking for a similar balance of focused work time and extraordinary experiences resulting in what can often be a transformative travel adventure.
Benefits of Accommodating Workationers for Destinations
Refining their offer to meet the needs of the growing Workation travel audience offers many benefits to destinations.
1. Workations Are on the Rise
Workations is a growing travel market thanks to the rise in remote working. While some businesses are encouraging employees back to the office, Workations are still a perk that many businesses can offer their employees.
According to a survey conducted by SEO Travel in 2023, 46% of UK workers took a Workation in the last year, at home or abroad. They report that worldwide searchers for “Workation” increased by 4900% in the five years to 2023. 35% of respondents said that they already had a Workation planned for the upcoming year, and the average Workation trip lasted 2.5 months. Long-term stays of 28+ days continue to be Airbnb’s fastest-growing category.
A similar survey of US workers conducted in 2022 by Passport Photo Online reported that 94% of respondents were interested in planning a Workation in the coming year, while most agreed that it helped boost their productivity (86%), reduce burnout (83%), and improve job satisfaction (94%). It is no wonder that an increasing number of businesses are introducing Workation policies.
2. Economic Diversification and Seasonal Robustness
Destinations that rely on a particular type of tourist, such as skiers for their annual winter ski trip or sun chasers looking for their annual beachside holiday, are limited in their market. They are not maximizing their year-round potential and are at greater risk when a “bad” high season strikes.
Offering packages for Workationers taps into a unique demographic who might not typically visit certain destinations. They can be attracted to come during low season periods with lower prices for long-term bookings and access to alternative experiences such as access to mountain trails when snow recedes and the opportunity to participate in authentic community experiences.
Lower but guaranteed long-term spending in low season can boost the economic demand for work-related services, such as co-working spaces and high-speed internet, as well as boost revenue for businesses such as restaurants, transport services, and experiences. Overall, this can boost long-term stability.
3. Brand Differentiation
Targeting Workationers can help destinations develop a name as not just a holiday destination but an experience. By offering well-thought-out long-term experiences, destinations can build a reputation for offering more sustainable, affordable, environmentally friendly, and authentic experiences, all of which are valued by the travel market as a whole.
Key trends for both the Workation and overall travel market include offering sustainable and affordable experiences that allow visitors to feel like they have made an authentic connection with the local community. Connecting and community building with other travelers looking for similar experiences is also valued. There is also an increased demand for a focus on balance and wellbeing, offering access to health and wellness experiences rather than just a never-ending party.
Meeting the needs of the Workation market can help destinations meet the changing needs of the broader travel market. Workationers are also often repeat visitors who will return to places that they love.
How Can Destinations Leverage the Rising Workation Trend?
While the value of the Workation market is clear, the question becomes “What can destinations do to attract and accommodate remote workers on Workation?”
Most studies, like that conducted by Airbnb, point to big infrastructural factors, principally remote worker visas and financial and tax incentives, but these are policies made on a national level. What can individual destinations do?
Destination marketing company Hootboard offered more practical advice based on their work with destinations. Their principal recommendation is to offer Workation packages both to target Workationers through marketing and meet their specific needs. Their needs include reliable internet, a work-friendly environment, access to attractions and activities, and extra support to make the most of their time traveling.
Workation Packages
Hubs has been working with destinations to develop attractive Workation packages for several years and now offers low or shoulder season packages in the Slovenian Alps, the Swiss Alps, and Budapest.
Each destination offers long-term accommodation options during a particular season, starting from 30 days for up to three months, with an extension possible. They offer a variety of comfortable accommodation options designed to meet the needs of different travelers from solo travelers to families. Accommodation includes access to a dedicated workspace with high-speed internet and discounts and deals with local coworking spaces.
Each destination has a community manager who is dedicated to creating opportunities for connection and cohesion within the group of travelers and organizing access to sites and activities, making it as easy as possible for Workationers to make the most of their destination. They can also offer additional support to travelers when it comes to specific information and requests.
Workation packages like these started in Lenk in the Swiss Alps in Autumn 2023, and since then has consistently been attracting full cohorts of participants from around the world. The community managers offer 5-6 optional activities per week including hikes, yoga sessions, Swiss cooking classes, and poker nights.
With a population of a little over 2,000, Lenk can host up to 5,000 guests during the ski season when many out-of-town workers also arrive to support the industry. The Workation cohorts, while still comparatively small, are helping fill those spots throughout the rest of the year, feeding the local economy in the low and shoulder seasons.
But more than filling beds, the Lenk Workation packages are helping the region rebrand and offer something unique in the competitive Swiss Alps tourism market. You can read more about the Lenk Workation project here. You can learn more about the Hubs.travel team and their mission here.
