VanLife - Traveling with the VW Bus

Philipp Wegerer: Traveling by motorhome has a long tradition in the European context. In recent years, camping vacations have shed their dusty image and taken on a completely new, youthful and trendy note thanks to the VanLife trend. By VanLife, I mean the trend of transforming old vans into individualized campers in do-it-yourself mode. These vans are then used for short, spontaneous weekend trips or as a mobile home for longer nomadic life episodes. What makes this trend so exciting is that it is closely linked to the macro social developments of individualization and flexibilization. I see VanLife as a longer-term trend that is relevant for tourism professionals, particularly due to the overlap with associated trends such as deceleration, digital nomads and the blurring of boundaries between work and leisure. VanLife also offers an interesting example for learning more about the wishes, desires and needs of a new generation of tourists.

Philipp Wegerer: In this study, we looked at VanLife from a sociological perspective and were interested in the consumption practices of camper van owners. The results show that camper van owners develop a very strong relationship with their vehicles. This strong relationship to the object develops through various personalization and modification practices. In this area in particular, a community has developed on various social media channels and around a relatively small group of influencers, which is certainly style-defining for this trend. It was also interesting to observe that the camper vans are often personified by their owners. Many vans had a nickname and were described with special character traits such as good-natured, bitchy, strong and fragile.

When we come to travel, the feeling of freedom and adventure was the central theme. Trips with the van are often very spontaneous and only rudimentarily planned. However, if you examine the process, they consist of a multitude of highly routinized practices and structuring elements. Central to this is the search for the perfect spot for the night, cooking in the van or relaxing with the van in nature. The camper van lifestyle is often associated with other outdoor-oriented sports such as climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering or kayaking. It was exciting that topics such as comfort only play a subordinate role; more important were motifs such as adventure, spontaneity, nature and adventure, but also deceleration. Owners of old VW buses in particular described the intense feeling of deceleration and relaxation that they experience when driving their vintage bus.

Philipp Wegerer: I think it makes sense to look at the topic of VanLife from two perspectives. On the one hand, it is interesting as a trend in itself, and on the other hand, we can learn a lot about the wishes, needs and aesthetics of a new generation of travelers. I would recommend that tourism professionals see VanLife not as a motorhome vacation in a new guise, but as a new target group with its own wishes and needs. I still see a lot of potential for new business ideas here. In general, there is a lot to be learned from this trend in terms of changing values in our society. VanLife is an almost exemplary manifestation of the singularization of our work, life and travel style. Luxury is less a material category here, but is defined as an authentic, singularized and decelerating travel experience.