In this five-part travel trends series, The Sandton Times explores the various holidays or vacations travelers are opting for as a result of the pandemic, like the Workcation.

• After months under lock and key, mixed with stress, anxiety, and eventual cabin fever, people are ready to get out of the house.
• There are 5 trending holidays or vacations people are taking: the Workcation, the Vaccication, the Spacation, the Staycation, and the Retalication.
• Be sure to check in every day this week for 2022 travel trends.
  
• Visit www.sandtontimes.co.za/fly for the best flight deals.

As the world moves into 2022 with international borders opening up and vaccinations on the rise, it’s clear that travel has changed significantly and that the new reality of going on a trip, for business or pleasure, involves a massive focus on hygiene and cleanliness, vaccination passports, ever-changing restrictions but maintaining that undying desire to explore a new place.

Today it’s the turn of the ‘Workcation’. Whilst organisations are managing their risk, so too are many trying to get a maximum return on executive travel plans and with this comes the rise of the ‘Workcation’. Having been locked up in online meetings for almost 2-years, people are yearning to stretch their legs (and minds) yet their personal budgets have been stretched too far already, as a result of the pandemic’s economic impact. Hence many are using their ever-increasing business travel to squeeze in the odd leisure excursion too, without compromising on their work commitments – one hopes.

With a laptop, smartphone, and decent 5G connection in place, the office can move to pretty much anywhere in the world, or for now, somewhere in South Africa. The desire for a work and wanderlust balance is real, and why not schedule a wine tasting in the Cape Winelands, right after that Thursday afternoon online sales meeting?

Not only does this impact the amount of time a person will stay in one destination, the combination of work and play will also impact the location of their accommodation, requirements for services like Wi-Fi or meeting rooms, and access to other business services like printing.

Taking it one step further, those who might work for themselves and have found even more freedom in a digitally enabled pandemic world will have embraced a constant state of movement and travel, whilst still attending to online meetings, delivering services, and hosting presentations. According to MBO Partners research, as many as 4.8-million independent workers consider themselves digital nomads – working remotely whilst traveling for an extended period of time. There are even cruise ships dedicated to those who are working remotely and don’t mind checking in on a new city every odd day.

The ‘Workcation’ trend has also made an impact on travel calendars. No longer are the usual school holidays or peak seasons and options – now any time of the year could be a good time to head off and answer emails from a beach, vineyard, or mountain range, as long as there is good enough signal. Traveling out of the usual peak season also makes a significant difference in hotel and car rental pricing, with many benefiting from discounted deals from flights to accommodation.

Whilst many are swapping the boardroom for a bushfire or the watercooler for some water sports, it’s clear that the world of work has changed, some might say for the better, and that location no longer equals productivity.

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