BENGALURU: Students who missed out on a holiday break because of the two-month lockdown, are now anxious that they still won’t be able to go on a vacation because of online classes. So the answer is ‘workation’ — an opportunity to go on vacation, and yet not miss a single class. For those working from home, it’s an ideal vacay too. Kodagu has taken the lead in this, with many resorts offering ‘workation’ as an incentive to get more tourists. Resorts are offering separate cottages with Wi-Fi facilities so that guests can work comfortably.
Students can use television screens in the rooms or the conference rooms to attend online classes. Resorts are focussing on people from Bengaluru to start with, but children below 10 and citizens aged above 60 years are not welcome. The tourism department, the minister and deputy commissioner have welcomed the idea as it is innovative and will help boost the economy.
“New ideas are welcome and we are looking at ways to ensure survival and revival. To draw tourists, hospitality and activities offered are the key and this is unique,” Tourism Minister C T Ravi said. Shriya Krishnan, CSR head of Ibnii Spa and Resorts in Madikeri, said: “After discussion with the local administration, we have announced this service and are open for guests. Many enquiries have started, but we are limiting the bookings because of Covid-19.
We are offering a complete package for a week or more, with free Wi-Fi connection. All the guests have to do is carry their laptops and head phones.” The guests will also have to carry their Covid-19 test reports and have to ensure that they are coming from green zones. The resorts have assured the administration to run with half the capacity.