'Workation' Combining Work and Vacation Gains Popularity... Jeju, Gyeongju, and Yeosu Preferred

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The so-called ‘workation (Work+Vacation),’ which combines work and vacation, has recently been experiencing new growth due to COVID-19.

The Korea Tourism Organization announced an analysis report on the 26th that diagnoses the workation trend and explores business opportunities by utilizing big data from social media, telecommunications, and spending.

According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to the work environment and working methods. Before COVID-19, only 15% of companies used remote work, but this increased to 74% afterward. According to a survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as of last year, about 50% of Korean companies operated telecommuting, and about 52% of companies expressed a desire to continue telecommuting after the end of COVID-19.

Amid these changes, interest in workation is increasing worldwide. Analyzing Google and Naver trends from 2020 to 2021, the Korea Tourism Organization found that the social buzz volume (mentions) of workation increased by 200% in 2020 compared to the previous year. In Korea, the buzz volume in July 2020 increased by 100% compared to the previous month. This year, when the Korea Tourism Organization and local governments began actively developing workation products, the buzz volume increased by 300% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, time-series predictive analysis based on social big data forecasts high business growth potential for workation over the next five years.

Analyzing regional growth potential, the Korea Tourism Organization identified ‘Jeju’, ‘Gyeongju’, ‘Yeosu’, ‘Gangneung’, ‘Chuncheon’, ‘Haeundae (Busan)’, ‘Sokcho’, and ‘Jecheon’ as key areas. Regions with high growth potential that are not yet widely known to consumers include ‘Boryeong’, ‘Asan’, and ‘Sinan’.

A pilot competitiveness analysis of three candidate regions for workation growth?Gangneung, Haeundae, and Sokcho?showed that all these areas share excellent accessibility, natural friendliness, and opportunities to enjoy emotional leisure. Distinct characteristics were also found according to workation types: rural and traditional experience type (Gangneung), urban type (Haeundae), and resort type (Sokcho).