BANGKOK, 8 July 2022: Airbnb will partner with 20 destinations worldwide to attract digital nomads, including Thailand, Bali, Lisbon, and the Caribbean.
Earlier this year, Airbnb launched its ‘Live and Work’ Anywhere initiative to identify some of the most remote worker-friendly destinations in the world and support governments and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) in helping to revive tourism and provide economic support to communities after two-plus years of travel restrictions.
The 20 destinations Airbnb will spotlight
- Baja California Sur, Mexico
- Bali, Indonesia
- Brindisi, Puglia, Italy
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Caribbean
- Canary Islands, Spain
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Colombia
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Malta
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Palm Springs, California, USA
- Queensland, Australia
- Rural France
- Salzkammergut, Austria
- Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
- Thailand
- Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Over the next few months, Airbnb will work closely with destination partners ranging from whole countries to smaller, lesser-known towns. They were selected based on their attraction to remote workers and progressiveness in evolving policies for those looking to live and work in a different region and attract a new type of traveller. The initiative builds off work during the pandemic, which saw Airbnb partnering with more than 160 governments and DMOs to specifically support efforts to encourage the return of tourism — including through remote working.
Millions of people are now more flexible about where they live and work. As a result, they’re spreading to thousands of towns and cities, staying for weeks, months, or even entire seasons at a time.
About one in five guests globally said they booked Airbnb to enable them to work remotely while travelling in 2021. That trend has continued into Q1 2022, with long-term stays at an all-time high, doubling in size from Q1 2019. They are essentially “living” on Airbnb as guests have already planned stays in over 72,000 cities and towns* this summer.
Research conducted by the Harvard Business School shows that while it is clear that digital nomads, and remote workers in general, can be a boon to any economy, they also might play a key role in fostering entrepreneurship in the communities where they stay, creating “technology clusters” around the world.
Airbnb co-founder and chief strategy officer Nathan Blecharczyck said: “In the two years since the pandemic began, a new world of travel has emerged in which many workers are untethered to an office. In collaborating with these destinations, we want to make it easier for workers to enjoy this flexibility and support the return of safe and responsible travel. We know that travel brings significant economic opportunity to local communities and connects people around the world. We’re excited to launch this one-stop-shop for anyone considering joining the millions of workers already enjoying this new trend of working flexibility and travel.”
*Cities and towns expected to have guest check-in between 1 June to 31 August 2022, as of 29 April 2022.
