Although there are not a lot of surveys available about the number of digital nomads nowadays, someone can easily come to the conclusion that this trend has a rising course lately, mainly due to the special conditions created by the pandemic.
Digital Nomads are the people who work remotely from different parts of the world and not necessarily from an office. They can work from a hotel room in Barbados or in Paris or even a vacation house in Greek islands like Santorini or Mykonos. They can complete their daily tasks with the help of technology and connectivity.
A lot of countries all over the world implement specific policies and give incentives to digital nomads and their families in order to go and live there. Among these countries is also Greece. Many digital nomads from abroad already live in Athens and Crete. Rhodes is another Greek island that prepares specific policies and infrastructure in order to become attractive to digital nomads from abroad. Another phenomenon that is also observed in Greece reinforcing this trend is that many Greeks who previously worked abroad decided to leave their offices and settle in Greece and now work remotely. These people do not necessarily choose to stay in Athens but also in many other beautiful areas of Greece. As far as other parts of the world are concerned, Dubai and Mexico are among the most appealing destinations to digital nomads.
According to a survey conducted by MBO partners on more than 3.000 US adults, the number of digital nomads increased from 7.3 million in 2019 to 10.9 million in 2020. A recent research report from the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) outlined the profile of digital nomads. According to ATTA, most digital nomads are freelancers for multiple companies (36%), own their own business (33%), work as a regular employee for one specific company (21%) or work as consultants for one specific company (5%). Digital nomads work on average 46 hours per week. The report also indicates that 20% of respondents became digital nomads during 2020, likely as a result of COVID-19. Lastly, ATTA shows the top destinations for long stays. These destinations are Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Spain, Colombia and Portugal.
If someone wants to know what conditions should a destination have in order to be chosen by a digital nomad, ATTA makes clear in its report that reliable internet connection, good weather and low cost of living are the most important ones. Of course, living to a suitable place close to the beach or other attractions is more important for digital nomads than having other amenities. Digital nomads usually look for destinations where it is easy to get a visa and renew one. If a place doesn’t require a visa then comes first in the list of digital nomads.
Some other data show that the majority of digital nomads are between 28 and 34 years old, while an also high percentage includes people between 35 and 41 years old. Furthermore, 59% are male and 40% female.
Year 2021 seems to be the year of digital nomads. However, this trend won’t fade but it will rise in the upcoming years. The predictions say that the number of digital nomads will reach one billion within the next decade. As time passes remote workers will have more job opportunities, better salaries and more tech tools to do their job quicker and easily. Also, company executives are starting to realize the advantages of hiring remote workers. The main advantage is that they will have to pay less money on renting offices. At the same time, remote workers seem to be more productive as when they have the option of working flexible hours gives them greater satisfaction.