Abstract
The provisional cessation of air travel imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic provided business travelers with an opportunity to mentally “zoom out” and reflect on their suspended hypermobile lifestyle. The present study uses these circumstances to reexamine three key issues in the existing literature prior the pandemic: a) the costs and benefits of conducting a hypermobile lifestyle; b) the justification of business trips considering the accessibility of online meetings; c) the role of tourism in shaping the business trip experience. An interpretive analysis of in-depth interviews with grounded business travelers conducted at the height of the pandemic revealed that the lack of frequent travel improved their work-life balance but instigated longings for tourism-related experiences, such as change, novelty and pleasure. The grounded business travelers also proclaimed that the lack of physical proximity with colleagues caused by the suspension of travel was followed by difficulties in generating new business relationships and nurturing creativity at work. By presenting the costs and benefits of immobility, as a reverse “mirror image” of hypermobility, the study reinforces the notion of hypermobility as a stressful but exciting lifestyle. By showing that physical proximity with colleagues cannot be fully replaced by online meetings, the study backs the opinion that stresses ever-present need for business trips. By suggesting that tourism-related experiences function as anchor points for the reconstruction of memories and longings in the minds of grounded business travelers, the study supports the position that tourism-related experiences are important components of business trips.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Post-Pandemic Tourism Transformations
KEYWORDS
Business travelers, Bleisure, COVID-19, Hypermobility, Online meetings
