One of the happy fallouts of the internet has been the independence, or freedom, of employees. Now, loads and loads of your work can algorithmically pass through those tubes to a place (or multiple places) of your choice in seconds.
All this has given birth to a new breed of workers – digital nomads. The digital revolution has helped this tribe of workers to mix work with travel as they satiate their wanderlust.
This has seen charming destinations like Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Berlin in Germany, Lisbon in Portugal, Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, and so many other such enchanting places become temporary homes of these on-the-go travellers.
In India, Goa is a hot favourite of theirs. Just like the hippies in the 1960s and the 1970s, they too are drawn to this southwestern coastal State despite slow internet speed and frequent power outages in its digital nomad hotspots like Anjuna, Morjim and others.
Travel blog writer and digital nomad, Anna, who is enamoured by Goa’s sultry and magical beaches and its culture, does not mince words while reviewing the tropical State for her peers.
“It’s far from ideal, mainly because the internet is pretty bad and there are a lot of power outages,” she says.
“Being a digital nomad in Goa can just end up being stressful because of the lack of infrastructure,” she sums up. But, these logistical drawbacks do not outweigh other considerations of the digital nomads such as Goa’s natural, pristine and vibrant environment.
Another factor pulling them to Goa, and other Indian States like Puducherry, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, is the low cost of living. With a depreciating Indian rupee, it could further slip.
As per the Digital Nomad World website, the overall budget, including accommodation, workplace, commute, food and leisure in 2020 was $750 (Rs 65,000, as per today’s US dollar rate) per month.
It’s not easy to come by authoritative data on digital nomads. Data put out by different agencies can widely differ.
For instance, Nomad List, which published its estimates in 2024, put the worldwide digital nomad number at around 80 million. Of these, it said 37 million or 45 percent, were from the United States.
Pumble.com, business communication and team messaging software, gave a more conservative estimate of digital nomads worldwide at around 40 million in 2024, with 17.3 million in the US, alone.
In an eye-opener, it revealed millennials – with an average annual income of around $122,859 (about Rs 1 crore at the current dollar-rupee conversion rate) – constituted the largest part of this group at 37 percent.
Interestingly, 91 percent of them are reportedly “having higher education”, and 62 percent are employed full-time.
They maintain a healthy work-life balance with 70 percent of them working 40 hours or less per week – which means they spend enough on leisure – and 77 percent are early adopters of technology.
And, if you thought these digital globetrotters were compromising on the monetary front, then Pumble.com’s findings reveal otherwise; 82 percent of them are “very satisfied with their income.”
In fact, the trend of digital nomads, which was set in motion post the Covid-19 pandemic, has been lately picking up pace with many traditional workers converting to digital nomads.
Now, this is the category of visitors Goa would want to aggressively woo to grow its tourism. They are tourists with high income, of which a large part is spent in the host country, where they put up for a long duration.
Also, digital nomads, as the name suggests, do not look to settle down in any one destination. Since they work for companies in their home country, they do not bite into local employment. All this is a big economic stimulator for a tourist destination like Goa.
In fact, they are being enticed with attractive packages, waivers and privileges by countries around the world with digital nomad visas, favourable tax regimes and world-class amenities and services, specifically designed to cater to them.
India is still not issuing digital nomad visas, which permit foreign nationals to live and remotely work for overseas companies in the country for a certain duration of time.
Digital nomads operating out of India use single-entry or multiple-entry e-tourist visa issued for 30 days, 1 year, or 5 years.
Thailand, Portugal, Spain, Mauritius, Barbados, Estonia and a host of other countries are all offering digital nomad visas with attractive offers and have reaped its economic benefits.
Goa has already opened its gates to digital nomads, but if it has to derive the real potential of this segment of tourists, it has to get its act to together.
And, one thing the coastal paradise cannot afford is to destroy its natural and distinct identity, and become a clone of degenerated cities – a place from where the digital nomads are trying to escape.
