Digital nomads tips

In an effort to attract more tourists and remote workers, the Thai cabinet this week rolled out a series of new visa promotions, including visa-free and visa-on-arrival schemes, extended stays for students, and reduced compulsory health insurance for retirees.

Corporations have largely maneuvered out of the workplace upheavals inflicted by the global pandemic. One issue continues to vex managers: How to handle business travel for newly remote employees.

While remote work gains ground, a subgroup of professionals is taking it a step further — enter the digital nomads. These are individuals who leverage technology not just to work from home but to work from anywhere, exploring the diverse landscapes of a destination.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, November 17. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The company Outsite plans to purchase roughly 150 boutique hotels in Europe over the next five years to expand its cohousing community for digital nomads. 

Almost half of all global destinations now offer a digital nomad visa, according to a new analysis by the UN World Tourism Organization.

Outsite, a membership-based hospitality company that focuses on remote workers, has raised $1 million through an alternative method: crowdfunding.

Colombia has launched a dedicated visa for digital nomads, which is quite an achievement considering the country’s recent political upheavals.

Shayan Zaeem, co-founder and president of Revolving Games, is just one of thousands of remote workers around the globe. He has landed up in Dubai, which is ramping up efforts to pitch itself as a destination for more people like him.

There is now another subscription service for short-term rentals.

A dilapidated hotel originally built in the 1980s as a luxury hideaway for elite members of the Bulgarian Communist Party could soon be transformed into a co-living hub.

Portugal’s move to end its “Golden Visa” program and curtail new short-term rental licenses will not impact the vacation rental market in the country — not in the short-term anyway. 

Online travel agent Hostelworld is seeing demand soar for bookings across Central America, as it reports an uptick in bookings coming through its new app.

Hotel brand Zoku is opening its fourth property, which is located in Paris, on May 31.

Not all brands want (or for that matter can afford) celebrity endorsements. Yet social media continues to grow as a vital marketing channel.

A UK-based startup has secured funding and two leading advisors to help its mission evolve how companies bring their teams together.

Blueground, the property management company that operates furnished 30-plus-day rentals, has acquired Nestpick in an equity-based deal. Nestpick’s platform lists month to month rentals of furnished accommodation. The company is registered in Germany, with offices in New York.

We’ve all seen them. Envy-inducing Insta posts and enticing ads for longer-term, remote-working visas. You know the images we mean — pics of impossibly happy people lounging in hammocks, laptop casually to hand, with a beautiful beach as their genuine backdrop. No filter, no fake background. Just pure unadulterated, work-play balance bliss, and aspirational “this could be you” messaging. And the glorious truth is, this really could be you.