Digital nomads: the key to boost tourism? Part I
Does the term digital nomad sound familiar to you? The concept has become famous with the rise of teleworking, but the truth is that it is not a new idea. Already in 1997 the Digital Nomads manifesto appeared, written by Tsugio Makimoto and David Manners, in which they predicted a globalized world in which new technologies, new employment contracts and new business practices would completely change our lives, blurring the boundaries between work, leisure, home and travel.
And now, with the crisis in the tourism sector, digital nomads can become the key for a hotel, a travel agency or even a restaurant, to differentiate themselves from the competition and get a full on their reservations. It is enough to meet this new traveler profile, that of the digital nomad.
Travelers looking for medium and long-term deals
In January 2019, when searching in English for “digital nomads” on Google, just over 1.3 million searches were retrieved. It is a not inconsiderable figure, but it is that in September 2020 those results grew to 5.7 million.
Interest in the nomadic life has grown like foam because many people have discovered that they can telecommute and, since they do not have to go to the office, why tie themselves to a fixed place? They can turn any room or cafeteria in the world into your office.
Although of course, not all digital nomads are the same. It is estimated that 42% of them make trips of between 1 and 14 days, because, although they have the freedom to work from home, they have to go to the office on time twice a month, once a week, etc. While 23% of them do not have to go to the office at any time and therefore usually make trips between 31 and 60 days.
That is why any business that wants to take advantage of the pull of this type of travelers, must prepare medium and long-term offers that respond to the needs of these travelers.
What are digital nomads looking for?
Now that you know a little more about the profile of digital nomads that you can attract to your business, you might wonder what these travelers are looking for, what can tempt them.
One of the key points to attract these tourists is the affordable prices. Typically, they travel to places with a lower standard of living than their hometown. Thailand, for example, has always been a highly sought after destination among digital nomads, who could live very well on their European or American salaries in this Southeast Asian country.
In this sense, Spain has the great advantage that its cost of living is below the European average, so it can easily attract English, German, Danish, French, Swiss workers ... And the same happens with many Latin American countries, which are perfect for attracting North Americans and Northern Europeans.
The climate is also a key point, as many digital nomads flee from countries where the sun hardly rises to enjoy climates where it is almost always summer.
