The rise of the ’half-tourist’ who combines work with a change of scene | Travel | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/sep/25/the-rise-of-the-half-tourist-who-combines-work-with-a-change-of-scene
▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b05a637a5cc1b0e65e9a20bbf51ac416ea9c61e2/0_167_5760_3456/master/5760.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali
Until the pandemic the term “remote worker” conjured up an image of a young hipster lugging a Mac around a co-living space somewhere in Bali or Berlin. But when coronavirus forced half of the UK to work from home back in April, a whole new cohort of people, who had spent their entire careers in an office, realised that working from different locations was a real possibility. Boris Johnson’s announcement on 22 September of a new set of Covid-restrictions that could last up to six months – including advice to work from home wherever possible, in a reversal of previous messaging – could well inspire many more people to adopt a nomadic working life.
Destinations hit by the global halt in travel have already started to target nomadic workers to make up for the loss of tourist income. Barbados was one of the first to launch a “digital nomad” visa, in July. Since then, a wave of other countries have announced similar programmes, including Estonia, Georgia and Croatia. Most recently, Anguilla launched a visa scheme inviting visitors to live and work on the island for 12 months, “swapping grey skies and jumpers for tropical blues and daily temperatures reaching for the 30s”.
The downside of these schemes is that they require proof of high earnings – at least €3,504 a month for Estonia, for example; US$50,000 a year for Barbados. Some also charge an application fee, and if you want to rent a villa in Anguilla you’ll need a very hefty bank balance. While the new working visas have garnered a lot of publicity, most remote workers are interested in shorter-term stints abroad, switching between periods at home and abroad – although anyone planning to decamp needs to check the constantly changing travel restrictions.
#Covid-19#migrant#migration#sante#travailleurmigrant#travailleurnomade#tourisme