Attracting digital nomads: Smart destination strategies, innovation and competitiveness

04.03.2024 - 07:53 / traveldailynews.com / Vicky Karantzavelou

Αccording the survey published in Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, digital nomads, individuals who leverage technology to work remotely while traveling, have emerged as a vital market segment for global destinations. Recognizing this, smart destinations are increasingly tailoring their offerings to meet the unique blend of work, leisure, and lifestyle needs of these modern travelers. This adaptation often requires innovation at both structural and agency levels, involving international stakeholders, destination-based entities, and institutional participants.

Digital nomadism, as a new form of tourist mobility, brings opportunities and challenges for destination management. To attract this new market, smart destinations need to innovate to develop readiness and competitiveness. The research “Attracting digital nomads: Smart destination strategies, innovation and competitiveness” by L. Zhou, D. Buhalis, D. Fan, A. Ladkin, and X. Lian, examines 225 digital nomad destination web articles, from multiple sources and different continents. The study aims to identify innovative strategies and practices using semantic content analysis and hierarchical network analysis. It explores relevant stakeholders and their importance, and pinpoints digital nomad trends.

Findings suggest that smart destinations cater for the work, travel, social, financial and basic-living needs of digital nomads. These are different from those of short-term leisure and business tourists. Destinations tend to portray digital nomads as a homogenous group, although different segments have been identified.

The long-term impacts of digital nomads on local economies and societies have yet to be fully explored. The theoretical significance of this study lies in the provision of an agency-structural perspective of destination innovation and competitiveness. Practically, the study contributes to digital nomad management and marketing within smart tourist destinations.

Read the full article here.

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.