„IU International University has launched the ‘Bleisure & Workation Monitor Germany’ research project to investigate the growing importance of bleisure travel and workation in Germany. The Bleisure Traveller is a cooperation partner.”
The “Bleisure & Workation Monitor Germany” will systematically analyze the “two innovative forms of travel that combine work with leisure and vacation,” as it were, and provide practice-relevant insights for the tourism industry. The research team (photo) led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Zimmer (Professorship in Tourism Management, left), Prof. Dr. Sven Pastowski (Professorship in General Business Administration, center) and Prof. Dr. Peter Neumann (Professorship in Tourism Economics, right) from the IU International University plans to develop a Germany-wide survey instrument for the first time that specifically focuses on the perspective of tourism providers. The focus is on questions such as: What trends are shaping the market for bleisure travel and workation in Germany? What challenges do providers face in developing and marketing such offers? How can bleisure and workation offers contribute to regional tourism development?
“The aim is to obtain well-founded market data that will enable regular analysis and tracking of trends and developments,” says the study team. This would enable companies, destinations, start-ups and political decision-makers to ‘gain valuable insights into this dynamic market segment’.
Rhineland-Palatinate as a model region
Initially, the research project is set to run for the next two years. A pilot study in selected destinations is planned before the end of 2025. One of the model regions here is Rhineland-Palatinate, with the Convention Bureau Rhineland-Palatinate and Rheinland-Pfalz Tourismus GmbH. The German federal state has been positioning itself as an attractive destination for bleisure travelers since 2021, with a particular focus on enjoyment, culture and nature. As part of its own bleisure theme year, Rhineland-Palatinate had initiated the “Stay a little bit longer” hotel discount offer for business travelers, among other things. The insights from the current study will help to develop further bleisure offers in the future in collaboration with the partner network of the Convention Bureau Rhineland-Palatinate, according to Fabienne Schönweitz, project manager of the Convention Bureau Rhineland-Palatinate.
In 2026, the Monitor research team at the IU International University is planning a nationwide survey and, from 2027, the continuous implementation of the Bleisure & Workation Monitor in order to create a sustainable database for the tourism industry. “We are pleased that we, as one of the cooperation partners, can support the project and thus also the further establishment of bleisure and workation,” says Sylvie Konzack, co-founder and co-editor of Bleisure Traveller.
Photo: © IU Internationalen Hochschule
