2022

DIGITAL NOMADS

CHALLENGES PROBLEMS OPPORTUNITIES

 In the past years, Portugal has tourist profile will be the key to and business models.

THE 2
strengthened its position as the sustainable growth.
With the increase of tourism
world's best destination when
While the pandemic situation startups comes the necessity to
it comes to Tourism. The

FUTURE OF
battered an array of business sectors, create a match between the needs
Tourism sector represented
tourism sector activity took the of the market and the startups’
more than 14,8% of the GDP in products and services.

TOURISM
heaviest hit. Tourism activities
2019, placing Portugal in the Hence, this necessity urges us to create
experienced an upturn, however
top 5 European countries platforms and build bridges
international tourist arrivals were still
where Tourism contributes that can identify the needs of the
below the pre-pandemic year of
more to the GPD. With the market, before and after the pandemic,
2019. The rebuilding of the tourism and make sure the entrepreneurial
immense growth of the sector
for the future is crucial, and the ecosystem is aligned with the real pains
in recent years, the highest values on
challenge remains: how can we bring of their customers.
record, Tourism operators have
increased, there is more demand, tourism back better?
Digital Nomadism in particular has
more supply, more investment and More and more initiatives have gained more and more fans around the
more tourists. been organized with a national effort world specially after the pandemic.
We focus this study in particular digital
Even though the Tourism to bring new and innovative
nomads segment since it is an
approaches to the traditional Tourism increasingly trend in today's society
sector has grown quite rapidly,
we used to know. that attracts more and more people to
its territorial distribution
From identifying challenges and Portugal, which is considered one of
is still felt in the rural areas of the best destinations for nomads in the
creating startups to helping the
Portugal, where rural Tourism world.
startups to grow, many contributions
and nature experiences are However, there is still a long way to go,
have been made in order to keep the
now taking a step towards full of opportunities and this report is a
sector growing disruptively but
new developing opportunities. first step towards responding to the
sustainably.
biggest challenges in this segment.
However, the digital transformation The result of this effort is the
entrepreneurial community we can
of the Tourism sector is crucial, and now find in Portugal, united to face the
creating a qualified offer for the new adversities and conquer new markets
WHAT TO 3

EXPECT ONE
________CONTEXT
Why are we here?

TWO
___________SURVEY RESULTS
What are the challenges?

THREE
________THINK TANK
Thinking the sector

FOUR
____________CONCLUSIONS
Thoughts and opportunities
WHY ARE
______WE HERE?
CONTEXT
WHY ARE 5

WE HERE? NEST – Tourism Innovation Center of Portugal joined forces with Fábrica de Startups to create
a diagnostic cycle of Think Tanks aiming to study the Portuguese Tourism market and identify
main challenges, needs, and opportunities within the Tourism innovation processes.

Six main vertical areas of the Tourism sector were identified in order to conduct the study,
namely: Gastronomy & Restaurants, Hospitality, Tourism Activities, Points of Interest, Wine
Tourism and Digital Nomads.

Each cycle was divided into 3 steps, firstly a survey, secondly a Think Tank, and thirdly a report.

SURVEY THINK TANK REPORT

On the first step, a survey was conducted For the Think Tank, we have invited This report intends to portrait the
and distributed through a selected group a selected group of people, including results of the sixth cycle of innovation
of specialists who are decision-makers, digital nomads and B2B services for regarding identifying new opportunities
responsible for defining strategies, and nomads with proven experience in for the future of the Tourism sector,
ensuring operational processes within the sector, to participate in a dynamic mainly, the Digital Nomads segment.
each of the vertical areas. Throughout workshop. The Think Tank was conducted
the survey, we have collected information to identify specific internal and external
regarding the main challenges in the sector and struggles in the sector in order to generate
the future opportunities regarding a set of potential opportunities for new
innovation, digitalization and sustainability. products, services and businesses.
JOÃO
MENDES

“
Digital nomadism will grow and become standard.
Anyone who is not a nomad will be a digital sedentary.

”
FOOTPRINT
NOMAD
VERTICAL 7

AREAS GASTRONOMY AND RESTAURANTS

Considered as a cultural patrimony,
HOSPITALITY

Breaking records in the occupancy rate

gastronomy is proven to be one of in 2019, the hospitality sector has grown
the main factors when choosing a rapidly, at the point of attracting
touristic destination. international investment in Portugal.

How is the sector adjusting to the online

What has changed in the hospitality sector?
channels?
How to leverage new technology?
Are restaurants taking advantage of the
What are the new trends and customer
new technologies?
behaviors?
How to engage with their communities?

REPORT AVAILABLE REPORT AVAILABLE

TOURISM ACTIVITIES POINTS OF INTEREST

The success factor is to differentiate your The patrimony of Portugal is equally
solution and correctly targeting it. spread through its territory, whether
we are talking about museums, palaces
or nature.
What is the future customer journey?
How to analyze the fluxes of tourists?
How to become more sustainable?
How to guarantee an easy and sustainable
How to add value and create an unforgettable
and repeatable experience? mobility of tourists?
How to leverage tech solutions?

REPORT AVAILABLE REPORT AVAILABLE

VERTICAL 8

AREAS WINE TOURISM

As an emergent sector and part of the
DIGITAL NOMADS
Portugal has become one of the most preferred
cultural patrimony Wine Tourism is proven destinations for this segment. Offering
to be one relevant area when choosing a everything that nomads seek while working in a
touristic destination. foreign country.

How to diversify customers? Can we create a national incentive plan?

How to guarantee a personalized service? How can insurance companies develop new
How to create successful campaigns? products?
How to train the workforce? How to create more engagement on the local
communities?
REPORT AVAILABLE How can we create new digital products and
services?

REPORT AVAILABLE
DIGITAL 9

NOMADS Digital nomadism is a real trend with 35 million digital nomads all over the world in 2021. Over the
years this lifestyle already duplicated its community in some countries.
It is a growing market with high potential, and it got even more relevance after two years of pandemic
restrictions. People realized that, in most of the jobs, it is possible to work from almost every part of
the world. The location is not relevant anymore.
Initially the big motivation was to have more freedom and meet new cultures and new countries.
Afterwards the digital nomad community realized that this lifestyle improved their work-life balance
with a positive impact on their lives.
Digital nomads only need a few tools to work remotely: a laptop, tablet, or smartphone with internet
access through Wi-Fi or a cellular hot-spot: simple as that!
Usually it’s easier to became a nomad as a single person, but the statistics tell us that the number of
families increases on a daily basis.
This lifestyle is gaining more and more followers and it is becoming the "new normal" of working,
having more and more fans around the world and revolutionizing the existing work models until then.

How to retain talent

How to create innovative How to improve their
and make people stay
concepts to attract nomads to experience providing all longer and increase
Portugal? the products and services the connection with
they need? locals?
MIGUEL
COSTA

“
Digital nomadism, in addition to being natural and inevitable, will be
revolutionary on a personal level, for countries and for the planet as a whole.

”
NOMAD HOMES
WHAT ARE THE
______CHALLENGES
SURVEY RESULTS
MARIA INÊS
CABRAL

“
The future of digital nomadism involves the experience of sharing coexistence
between different cultures, moving from country to country will make you grow
professionally and personally.

”
LACS
CREATORS
THE The survey was sent and
answered by a group of 32
particular people to make a
Most of our invited experts were
Digital Nomads (65%) with
Portuguese nationality (41%)
13

SURVEY diagnostic regarding the

current situation of the
Digital Nomads sector.
between 35 to 49 years old. They are
nomads for 2 to 5 years
and they already lived in around
3 to 6 different countries.
Among the selected group of
people, there were digital nomads
but also service providers (B2B) for The goal of this survey was to have
the sector, namely co-work spaces a qualitative approach to the
(LACS, Dinamo 10, Idea Spaces, Office challenges and opportunities
Work Beato, Lagos Digital), co-living
of the sector while shaping
(Selina, Digital Nomada Caparica,
Nomad Home) or services for the approach during the Think Tank.
nomads (Travelb4settle, Nomadismo
Digital Portugal, Footprint Nomad, The following pages represent
Remote Europe, Amazon Web the main results of the survey,
Services or Tripr). by pointing out the main
challenges, problems, and
The diversity of the groups was
opportunities.
crucial to identify the key
challenges across the value
chain of the sector. The results are splitted in two
different parts: Digital Nomads
profile and Service Providers for
Digital Nomads.
 14

PROFILE
DIGITAL NOMADS
PROFILE 15

DIGITAL NOMADS
The big majority of the respondents are Digital Nomads (65%) and most of them are Portuguese (41%).

Argentina
3% 3%
6% Austria
13% 3%
Azerbaijan
35% 6%
Belgium
6%
3% Colombia
6% Germa ny
65%
3% Italy
Netherlands
6%
Portugal
41% UK
USA
Venezuela
I'm a Digital Nomad
I work in a company that provides services to digital nomads
PROFILE 68% have already lived in up to 6 different countries and most of
16

DIGITAL NOMADS them are currently living in Portugal (78%).

34% 34%
>50

19%
13%

21-34
41% Up to 3 countries Between 3 and 6 Between 6 and 10 More than 10
countries countries countries
35-49
56%

3% 3%
3%
7%
Turkey
6%
Austria
Most of them have between 35 and 49 years old
Netherlands
Bulgaria
Spain
Portugal

78%
PROFILE 17

DIGITAL NOMADS
The majority of digital nomads that are living in Portugal at the moment are in Lisbon or Lisbon Metropolitan Area
(28%), followed by Oporto (19%) and Algarve (19%) and most of them work on digital marketing area.

Lisbon and Lisbon Metropolitan Area 28%

Oporto and North 19%

Algarve 19%

Ma deira 16%
Programmer Entrepreneur
16% 13%
I don't live in Portugal 16%

Project
Center 3% Management
6%

Digital Marketing Others Business Developer Designer

28% 25% 9% 3%
PROFILE 18

DIGITAL NOMADS

63% of the nomads are single nomads and most of them thinks that Portugal is a very good destination for nomads.

Nomad
Family

Nomad
Couple
31%

Single 44% 44%

nomad
63%

13%

0% 0%
1 2 3 4 5
PORTUGAL IS A BAD PORTUGAL IS A GREAT
DESTINATION FOR NOMADS DESTINATION FOR NOMADS
PROFILE 19

DIGITAL NOMADS
The biggest reason to became a digital nomad is, for 34% of the respondents, the great desire of freedom but also a way to
discover new countries and cultures (28%).
Most of them (47%) thinks that most countries doesn’t have a complete offer for nomad’s way of life, but they all agree there’s
already some dedicated offer for the segment.

Greater desire for freedom 34%

16%

To discover new countries and cultures 28%

Yes, there are already conditions to be a
37% digital nomad in most countries
Lifestyle 22%

Not really, but there is already some

To balance personal and professional life 9% dedicated offer for digital nomads.

Survive 3% No, is still difficult to be a digital nomad in

most countries

To leave my home country 3% 47%

MAIN 20

CHALLENGES

They consider the biggest challenge of being a digital nomad as the government bureaucracy (21%) and the lack of an integrated
offer for services such as accommodation, working spaces, mobility solutions, and so on.

Lots of government bureaucracy 21%

Few offer of integrated services: accommodation, co-work space, restaurants, mobility, etc 19%

We ak communication infrastructure e.g: internet coverage 15%

No nomad community in some countries 15%

Countries still without integrated and dedicated offers for digital nomads 13%

Access to health systems 10%

We ak digitization of services and offer 7%

 21

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
FOR DIGITAL NOMADS
(B2B)
PROFILE 22

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Most of the service providers for nomads are Portuguese (82%) and they are mainly from Lisbon and Lisbon
metropolitan area (76%).

18%
Lisbon and Tejo Valey 76%

I'm not in Portugal 12%

Ma deira 6%
82%

Algarve 6%
Portuguese Non- Portuguese
PROFILE 23

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Most of the service providers are owners (47%) of small companies (up to 10 employees).

6%

47%

47%
>100
24%
*

Ma nager Owner Other

0-10
53%
* 10-30
18%
* 30-50
6% *
* nr of employees
PROFILE 24

SERVICE PROVIDERS
Mainly they characterize their business as “other” option and they mentioned services such as: community management,
advertising, events & conferences, touristic tours, or retail. The average cost of their services is under 100€.

29%
Hospitality and
41% Accommodation

Coworking Space

Mo bility

Other 100€ - 300€ 500€ - 1000€

18% 18%

24%
6%
< 100€ 300€ - 500€ >1000€
53% 6% 6%
Average price per service
PROFILE 25

SERVICE PROVIDERS
When asked about the maturity of the digital component of their businesses the opinions are divided between “very mature”
and “mature”.
They characterize their nomad customers as between 21 to 34 years old.

<20; 6%

35-49; 18%

35% 35%

12% 12% 21-34; 76%

6%

1 2 3 4 5
NOT MATURE AT ALL VERY MATURE
AGE RANGE
PROFILE 26

SERVICE PROVIDERS
Their nomad customers especially come from other European countries and they consider their financial situation as
“stable” and “very stable”.

Brazil
20%

41%
European
Countries 35%
55%
USA
25%

12% 12%

0%
1 2 3 4 5
LOW FINANCIAL HIGH FINANCIAL
AVAILABILITY AVAILABILITY
PROFILE 27

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Nomads represent nowadays around 30% of sales of their revenue.

29%
24%
18% 18%
12%

1 2 3 4 5
LOW IMPACT ON HIGH IMPACT ON
REVENUE REVENUE
PROFILE 28

SERVICE PROVIDERS
They consider the creation of a digital nomad community in the destination the biggest challenge for the sector in
the short-medium term.

Develop a community of digital nomads in the destination 16%

Increase involvement with the local community 11%

Improve government bureaucracy 11%

Cre ate daily schedule, e.g.: talks, professional workshops, etc 11%

Ensuring a significant volume of visitors 11%

Diversify the offer of services 9%

Define strategy to compete with international destinations 7%

Ensure communication infrastructure 7%

Diversify target audience 5%

Ma intain flexibility in the work regime 5%

Cre ate tourist offer to promote the region / country 5%

Qualify human resources to use new technologies 2%

PROFILE 29

SERVICE PROVIDERS

In terms of new opportunities for their businesses they selected as top 3: Test new products or services (22%),
New customer profile (20%) and Digitalization (20%).

New Consumer Profile

20%

Spaces adapted to
the segment Sustainability
14% 14%

Test New Products Digitilization Quality of services provided

22% 20% 10%
PROFILE 30

SERVICE PROVIDERS

They consider the main concerns for the digital nomads, especially the bureaucracy obstacles (25%) and the lack of an
integrated offer (23%).

Integration with Tourist

Service quality Offer
14% 11%

Smaller
Agglomeration of
People
7%

Bureaucratic obstacles Lack of Integrated Sustainability Digital Offer Health Security

25% Offer, 23% 11% 7% 2%
PROFILE 31

SERVICE PROVIDERS
71% believes that nomads will resume in a short period (less than one year), this means that the number of nomads will
return in 2022.
They also consider that creating a positive impact on local communities like, for example, job generation and cultural
aspects are the main strategies to attract the nomad segment.

Positive impact on local communities (job

60%
generation) and cultural aspects

Search for local suppliers and resources 20%

71%

Agile resource sharing and transfer 13%

24%

6%
Neutral or positive impact on the environment 7%
< 1 Year Between 1 and 2 years > 2 Years
PROFILE 32

SERVICE PROVIDERS
In terms of the most relevant areas to digitalize to attract nomads for the business, they consider the appointment
channel the major pain to be overcome (31%).

Marketing
13% Internal Operation
The Offer Itself Management
13% 13%

To make
tourism
Appointment Channel Delivery Channel Communication Channel omnichannel
31% 13% 13% 6%
PROFILE 33

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Most of them invested in technology in the past 2 years (76%) especially in Digital Marketing and social
media management (33%).

Digital marketing & social media 33%

We bsite creation and management 25%

No
24% Data analysis tools 13%

GDPR and database 13%

Microso ft office 8%

Planning programs 4%
Yes
76%
Financial software 4%
BUSINESS 34

DIGITALIZATION
Most of the businesses don’t have a digital component for internal operation management (21%) or for the
offer itself (21%). They classified the technical capacity of their employees to implement new digital
solutions as “good” or “very good”.

Internal operation management 21%

The offer itself 21%

Sales channel 16%

Delivery channel 16%

Commu nication channel 11%

41%
Appointment channel 11%
29%

Ma rketing 5%
12% 12%
6%

1 2 3 4 5
RESOURCES & 35

TECHNOLOGY
In terms of technological solutions, they consider urgent solutions for digital marketing & social media management (16%) and
also data analysis tools (16%). For the digital nomad segment they think digital platforms (20%) and the automation of 37%
operations (18%) are the most critical to obtain as soon as possible to attract nomads.

Digital marketing & social media 16%

Data analysis tools 16%

Reservation systems 14%

Planning programs 12%

CRM Solutions 12%

We bsite creation and management 8%

App creation and management 8%

Operation management systems 6%

Financial software 6%

GDPR and database 2%

AI development 2%
THINKING
______THE SECTOR
THINK TANK RESULTS
CONCEPT 37
The Think Tank was an online session with the presence of a group of experts in the field of Digital Nomadism,
coming together to think about the main struggles of the sector and explore future opportunities to solve them.

A group of 21 people was invited to participate in a dynamic workshop regarding the future of the sector.
The workshop was conducted by Fábrica de Startups using a design thinking approach to identify challenges,
find main struggles and detect possible solutions. Before the Think Tank, Fábrica de Startups selected the main
4 challenges the sector is facing at the moment, based on the results of the survey. These challenges represent
the foundation of the exercise where each team is assigned a specific challenge. Subsequently, each team will
have to choose a specific customer segment and go through the customer journey to find the key frustrations.
After identifying the main pains of the customer segment, participants are invited to evaluate and select only
one problem to which they will, later, find possible solutions.

During the think tank the following metrics were taking into consideration:

SIX THREE TWENTY FOUR TWELVE

Customer segments Different contexts Problems and pains Opportunities/solutions

On the next pages, we will show you the process that each team went through and the main conclusions. The outcome is specific enough to be more than
just a theorical exercise but broad enough to allow different approaches to the identified problems and opportunities.
FOUR 38

CHALLENGES
Before the Think Tank and taking into consideration the results of the survey, Fábrica de Startups selected the
main 4 challenges the sector is facing at the moment. These were the challenges that shaped the Think Tank
focused on the Digital Nomads sector:

ONE TWO
OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT BUREAUCRACY IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH SYSTEMS
Public services available in english Health services for Digital Nomads
Effective public digital services New insurance products & services
Incentives plan creation for Digital Nomads Understanding of national health system

THREE FOUR
ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS INTEGRATED OFFER CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES
Convert Digital Nomads into Digital Residents Tourism services adapted to digital nomadism
Engagement with local communities Tourism workforce qualification for this new
Efficient campaigns to retain talent segment
Create new digital products and services
SARA
AGUIAR

“
The future of digital nomadism is about being entrepreneurs with our own lives,
having control over where we are and how we want to live our lives.

” AMAZON WEB
SERVICES
OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT 40

BUREAUCRACY: OPPORTUNITY #1
CHALLENGE #1

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
Create a single platform all-in-one (website
RESEARCH 2 and/or app), transversal to all Digital
This is the step where nomads Nomads' needs with all the information
start looking for the offers aggregated in one single place.
available in the market. PROBLEMS
The solution named “E-Residency Program”
should be able to address all needs for
nomads, such as tax number, social security
MAIN PROBLEM: access, bank account, and so on.

1 When nomads are planning their arrival

in Portugal or leaving the country they SECONDARY PROBLEM:
struggle to gather the necessary In doing their research, finding
CONTEXT information. Services are not integrated accommodation and being
and most of the time documents are not able to collect the necessary
the same for global markets. For example, documents for a long-term 3
DIGITAL NOMADS opening a bank account needs a tax
stay is identified
YOUNG ADULTS number, and address registered with a tax
as a problem.
authority or a legal representative. Also, OPPORTUNITIES
when going abroad, the bank needs to
have a Portuguese mobile number in order
to send text messages and allow
transactions.
OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT 41

BUREAUCRACY: OPPORTUNITY #2
CHALLENGE #1

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
This is the step where the nomad is Creation of an online toolbok with a
choosing the next destination 2 simplified process that decodes all
and starts searching for information procedures associated with the Portuguese
about all the options available. model. This toolbox will act as manual with
PROBLEMS instructions for a problem-solving
mechanism.
The creation of a single and unique “ID
MAIN PROBLEM: number” for everything (taxes, health,
and social security) will simplify
For a digital nomad is very hard to foreigners' stay.
1 understand Portuguese bureaucracy At the same time, the plaftform will
such as the local tax system, national SECONDARY PROBLEM: compile usefull informations such as
laws, and so on. It’s difficult to understand coliving or coworking options.
CONTEXT available Visa options,
Most of the time the available
application procedures
information is not enough, and
services are inconsistent. Adding to and requirements 3
YOUNG ADULTS AND
REMOTE WORKERS this, many institutional websites are
not available in English and the
complexity of doing some basic things OPPORTUNITIES
is hard to overcome.
OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT 42

BUREAUCRACY: OPPORTUNITY #3
CHALLENGE #1

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH 2 Creation of a national and official organism
This is the step where nomads start (e.g. nomad’s desk) to provide specific
looking for the offers available assistance for nomads who want to come
in the market. to Portugal. This public organization will
PROBLEMS
work to address digital nomads' needs and
work liaising with public entities to find
solutions and overcome real obstacles.
MAIN PROBLEM:

1 Lack of information about procedures

creates real obstacles for digital nomads SECONDARY PROBLEM:
that want to come to Portugal, causing
CONTEXT them to give up and choose Depend on third-party
other destinations. companies to be able
to move forward.
3
YOUNG ADULTS

OPPORTUNITIES
FERNANDO
JARDIM

“
The country that creates the most integrated offer for digital nomads will make
the industry more competitive.

”
TRIPr
IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH 44

SYSTEMS: OPPORTUNITY #1
CHALLENGE #2

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH 2 Creation of a special VISA or Residency Card
This is the step where customers start looking program for Digital Nomads that allows
for the offers available in the market. access to the National Health System.
PROBLEMS This program presumes that doctors have
previously been assessed to know what
foreign languages they speak and includes
an online booking system for health
MAIN PROBLEM: appointments.

1 Access to health care services for single

nomads and their families is very difficult SECONDARY PROBLEM:
to obtain. This problem increases when we
CONTEXT are addressing nomads with +50 years. Quality of health services
There are no solutions to access the public might not be the same
health system and only a few solutions as in the home 3
in the private sector. country.
FAMILIES OR
ADULTS ELDERLY
OPPORTUNITIES
IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH 45

SYSTEMS: OPPORTUNITY #2
CHALLENGE #2

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
Creation of a guideline for digital nomads
RESEARCH 2 when coming to Portugal. This will compile
This is the step where customers start looking for and give them the necessary information
the offers available in the market. related to Portuguese national health
PROBLEMS system. Should be created a specific service
that can be paid for them and that will
serve as a health insurance, flexible for the
MAIN PROBLEM: duration of their stay.

1 Access to information is the critical

point when families are preparing for SECONDARY PROBLEM:
the trip and also when they are already
CONTEXT in Portugal and they still don’t know how Language barrier is also a
to react in case of an emergency. problem because the national
Health system is not
available in other
3
languages.

FAMILIES OPPORTUNITIES
(MIDDLE CLASS)
IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH 46

SYSTEMS: OPPORTUNITY #3
CHALLENGE #2

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH 2 Creation of an online platform that will
serve as a marketplace with all the
When customers search for
contents related to different health
the available information PROBLEMS systems. This way, all the services, with
different prices, will be available. The most
important specifications of the platform
should be the list of medical specialties,
MAIN PROBLEM: online booking and consultation and
The digital nomads living in Portugal do reviews from other users.
1 not understand the options available in The platform should have additional
health support, and the differences in SECONDARY PROBLEM: information, such as the rules of
the public and private sectors are not Difficulty to find the available the country to access public and
CONTEXT clear. options for health systems private health care.

DIGITAL NOMADS OPPORTUNITIES

ALLAN
SOUSA

“
Digital nomadism should create wealth and development.

”
DIGITAL NOMAD
CAPARICA
CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES: 48

OPPORTUNITY #1
CHALLENGE #3

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
BOOKING Create a new service to help hotels
2
When customers need to book services adapt to this new customer
according to their needs.
segment. This service will help on
PROBLEMS
the transformation of current
spaces into co-living spaces for
MAIN PROBLEM:
nomads. It should combine design,
For Digital Nomads accommodations in
1 construction and operations and
hotels are not suitable because they SECONDARY PROBLEM:
don't adapt to their needs. Most Identifying available options in
help with all the services and
CONTEXT accommodations are not prepared for
the market spaces dedicated to nomads
someone to work from the room, the lifestyle.
3
internet is not stable, there are no co-
working spaces, no kitchen, no
DIGITAL NOMADS OPPORTUNITIES
community, and so
CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES: 49

OPPORTUNITY #2
CHALLENGE #3

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH 2 Creation of a new workspace whose
market segment are digital nomads and
When customers plan all the activities during
local workers. The main focus of these
the stay.
PROBLEMS places will be the creation of synergies
between projects, so networking managed
by a community manager is crucial.
MAIN PROBLEM:
Lack of places to function as workspace
1 both for Nomads and Locals. Currently,
there are no options for the SECONDARY PROBLEM:
development of a community that
CONTEXT gathers remote workers and local Not knowing the basic needs of
nomads
people. The marketing and promotion
are not focusing on building a 3
community, only on promoting co-
working offers.
DIGITAL NOMADS OPPORTUNITIES
CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES: 50

OPPORTUNITY #3
CHALLENGE #3

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH 2 Creation of a platform that aggregates
information and allows identify and
This is the step where customers start looking
characterize the profile of digital nomads,
for the offers available in the market.
PROBLEMS their needs and objectives. This data
collection will be a tool to create local (and
national) offers that will attract digital
nomads.
MAIN PROBLEM:
Lack of communication between the
1 municipalities in Portugal and all
stakeholders that are trying to reach SECONDARY PROBLEM:
nomads, or are already working with
CONTEXT this segment. This lack of
Governance models that
communication makes it difficult to
understand the needs of nomads and are weak or non-existent. 3
create an integrated offer.

OPPORTUNITIES
CITY COUNCILOR
LÍGIA
GOMES

“
The future of digital nomadism is being able to work anywhere without any
issues. It makes no sense to question anymore whether we should work
remotely or not.

” USABILITY
HUB
ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 52

INTEGRATED OFFER: OPPORTUNITY #1

CHALLENGE #4

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH 2 Creation of an aggregator platform
capable of helping community managers
When customers plan all the activities during
to compile and provide information. This
the stay.
PROBLEMS platform will be used by service providers
to create or adapt their offers, and will
serve for digital nomads who want to hire
services.
MAIN PROBLEM:
When planning their stay, Digital
1 Nomads face the problem of reaching
and getting information from diferent SECONDARY PROBLEM:
service providers. The information is Lack of connection with local
CONTEXT dispersed across different websites communities
and it is difficult to make decisions
comparing offers (e.g. workspace, F&B, 3
infrastructure, and so on).

DIGITAL NOMADS OPPORTUNITIES

ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 53

INTEGRATED OFFER : OPPORTUNITY #2

CHALLENGE #4

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH 2 Creation of a centralized platform with
When customers plan all the activities during guidelines and processes that help finding
the stay. information for available services.
PROBLEMS Specifically for families this is very
important as they are very specific needs
(e.g. accomodation, health, schools, social
activities, taxes, and so on).
MAIN PROBLEM:
Lack of clear and organized
1 information that help Nomad Families
with integration in the social, SECONDARY PROBLEM:
residential, and fiscal aspects of local Lack of connection with local
CONTEXT communities. Misinformation or lack communities
of information create difficulties for
Nomads and friction in their daily lives. 3
This problem makes it difficult for
destinations/countries to stand out
FAMILIES from others and for Nomads to feel OPPORTUNITIES
(MIDDLE CLASS) that they are part of a place.
ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 54

INTEGRATED OFFER: OPPORTUNITY #3

CHALLENGE #4

MAIN OPPORTUNITY:

COMING BACK 2 The solutions is the creation of a

dedicated CRM system that will allow
After the experience guarantee that you to collect information about
people will repeat it once again PROBLEMS behaviours, needs, or even
consumption patterns. This
information will allow this
community to get closer to local
MAIN PROBLEM: communities, increasing the
Lack of strategies and coordination to probability of creating connections
1 retain nomads in the country. There is and retention.
not enough information about Nomads SECONDARY PROBLEM:
and their behaviour, therefore is Finding local partners
CONTEXT difficult retain they here. (e.g. accountant)

3
DIGITAL NOMADS

YOUNG ADULTS
OPPORTUNITIES
LUDMILA
REBOLA

“
Digital nomadism is great for the flexibility it creates, but it is only possible if the
tax system adapts to this new situation.

”
NOMADISMO DIGITAL
PORTUGAL
THOUGHTS AND
______OPPORTUNITIES
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS the website to an international audience so that
everyone has access to information.
the space and promote events for nomads.
These new spaces will be considered the centers
57

for nomads and they must be “the place” to go.

The survey combined with the Think Tank’s
They must be, of course, well-identified and
session outputs allowed us to recognize and The creation of a special VISA or Residency Card
communicated to attract the right people at the
categorize several challenges and trends that the is an idea worth considering given the
moment of choosing a place to stay.
digital nomads sector is facing. During both exponential growth of the segment.
phases, experts in the area, service providers To face the challenge of creating a public
and Digital Nomads come together to reflect on integrated offer it was clear that the creation of
Access to the health system is also a big a centralized institutional online platform with
the main struggles that need to be solved in the
challenge for a nomad. The information is spread simple and organized information is crucial, as
short-mid term.
all over, it’s difficult to get access to the public also the creation of a CRM to know better the
health system for a short stay in the country, and nomad’s profile and to adapt the services to
Our specialists (nomads and service providers) sometimes health services don’t speak English. their needs and proactively connect them with
concluded that nomads sector has an enormous In this way, it will be very interesting to create a local communities so they can be tied up with
potential in Portugal since it’s not developed and single online tool with all the rules and Portugal.
so, there’s a big margin for growth and legislation for public and private access to public After all this, it will be possible to create the
development. health systems, also with a marketplace of perfect conditions to attract more digital nomads
private services with different health specialties to Portugal. They consider the country has a
From the beginning of the journey when they and doctors available, with rating and reviews, great combination of advantages, but there’s still
decide to come to Portugal as the next stop, must be possible to book an online medical some way to grow the connection with this new
challenges exist in all contexts.. appointment. segment that nowadays tends to grow
In terms of bureaucracy there are several exponentially.
obvious improvements to be done. Regarding the lack of integrated services, the
Aggregating all the information for the nomads participants mostly agreed that this is a critical
in a single platform or app to centralize issue. So, the possibility to adapt and transform
information, and integrate of services for greater old buildings/hotels into a new concept by
convenience must be a priority. Clear designing, building, and managing new spaces
information on the local tax system, country with all the basic integrated services such as:
laws, access to healthcare, etc. The language accommodation, shared kitchen, and co-work
barrier is still a real problem: it is urgent to adapt space with a community manager to take care of
MAIN 58

CHALLENGES
OVERCOME GOVERNAMENTAL BUREAUCRACY IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH SYSTEMS

FOCUS: how to surpass the bureaucratic obstacles when arriving into a new FOCUS: how to guaranty access to health systems for a nomad that will stay
country as a nomad in the country for a specific period of time

How to ensure access to health systems when you are a nomad?

How to access to the correct information and available in english?
How to create the right conditions to attract nomads with minimum
How to simplify all the processes? risks?
How to aggregate all the information in one single place? How to concentrate all the information about access to health
issues?

- Creation of a special VISA or Residency Card program for Digital Nomads

- Create a single platform “all-in-one” transversal to all Digital Nomads' that allows access to the National Health System
needs with all the information aggregated: “E-Residency Program”
- Guideline creation for digital nomads when coming to Portugal with all the
- Construction of an online toolbox with a simplified process that decodes necessary information related to the Portuguese national health system
all procedures associated with the Portuguese model - Creation of an online platform that will serve as a marketplace with all the
contents related to different health systems.
- Creation of a national and official organism (e.g. nomad’s desk) to provide
specific assistance for nomads who want to come to Portugal
MAIN 59

CHALLENGES
ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS INTEGRATED OFFER CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES

FOCUS: reinforce the public offer to retain talent in the country and promote FOCUS: develop more conditions to attract nomads in therms of products and services
growth and development

How to retain nomads in the country? How to adapt the current offer to digital nomads?
How to engage nomads with local communities? How to qualify the workforce to be able to represent a new offer?
How can we convert nomads into residents? How to develop new products and services?

- Create a new service to help hotels adapt to this new customer segment - Creation of an aggregator platform capable of helping community managers
to compile and provide information
- Creation of new workspaces whose market segment is digital nomads and local
workers managed by a community manager - Creation of a centralized platform with guidelines and processes that help
find information for available services
- Creation of a platform that aggregates information and allows identification
and characterize the profile of digital nomads, their needs, and objectives - Create a dedicated CRM system that will allow you to collect information
about behaviours, needs, or even consumption patterns
GONÇALO
HALL

“
Digital nomadism will become the norm and cease to be the exception, as will
the existence of nomad communities.

”
REMOTE
EUROPE
 THANK
YOU

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