Brigitta Pecsek
Kodolányi János University of Applied Sciences, 1139. Budapest, Frangepán utca 50-56, Hungary
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/EMAN.2018.1017
2nd International Scientific Conference – EMAN 2018 – Economics and Management: How to Cope With Disrupted Times, Ljubljana – Slovenia, March 22, 2018, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; Faculty of Management Koper, Slovenia; Doba Business School – Maribor, Slovenia; Integrated Business Faculty – Skopje, Macedonia; Faculty of Management – Zajecar, Serbia, ISBN 978-86-80194-11-0
Abstract
Work, leisure and sleep are the three core cyclical activities in our society. In the past work was distinct from nonwork time, in fact ‘the 8-hour work, 8-hour leisure, 8-hour sleep day’ was at the very heart of past worker movements. So, the blur between work and leisure is a postmodern trend which has impacted the way we travel. This change is mainly due to the advances of technology, which have made work outside the workplace a reality even during holiday. Consequently, a hybrid tourism product called workcation has emerged and challenges the traditional concept of tourism. Both the theory and the practice of this phenomenon are in the focus of this research.
Due to the lack of the tourism-focused theorisation, the related literature is multidisciplinary and eclectic, therefore, this study takes a similar approach while embedding the topic into the tourism theory. The starting point is the change in work and leisure relationship, followed by the impact of technological advances on the work. Then I also formulate a tourism-focused workcation concept. For the empirical research an online survey was conducted with 340 participants. Based on the multidisciplinary literature and the result of my empirical research six types of workcation tourists were identified and described. Finally, a specific segment of workcation tourists is singled out as an attractive market for strategists and marketers planning sustainable tourism.
Key words
workcation, niche tourism, digital nomad, holiday stress
