European tourist boards consider moving part of their budget to attract digital nomads instead of traditional tourists.
According to the Toposophy and European Cities Marketing report, most people prefer longer stays and have more disposable income. In addition, travelers spend over more expansive geographic areas while discovering new places. As a result, most countries are promoting initiatives to attract digital nomads.
In order to attract digital nomads, the report outlines the importance of including:
- Free internet access
- Listings and partnerships with local coworking spaces
- Accommodation providers
- Dedicated tourism office hub for information
Finally, it’s important to establish partnerships with the nomads’ community to promote events, meetups, and workshops. For example, they can join the Coworking wiki and create a local community with Telegram. According to the report, Italy’s Tuscany region is one of the best examples of a dedicated microsite to attract digital nomads.
On the other hand, the challenge is to calculate generated revenue. And Croatia is the best example to follow. After the one-year visa for digital nomads, the country promoted several initiatives like the Zadar digital nomad village. As a result, the country generated more revenues from foreign tourists in 2021 than ever. The country’s 2021 third quarter reached $7.7 billion revenue – doubling 2020 data.
As Eric Dresin, secretary-general of the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations, says: “In a way, digital nomadism is an interesting trend as it helps regions that were not fitting into leisure travel patterns to become new destinations, because they can offer elements like connectivity, housing, level of education, taxation and social life, which is attractive for this kind of traveler.”
To sum up, as the pandemic still impacts the job and travel market, most European countries promote initiatives to attract digital nomads.
