Work from beach? How India's Goa attracts remote workers

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Imagine rocking up to work in beachwear and then proceeding to attend meetings from a shack on a beach. This is the image the government of Indian state Goa is trying to capitalise on to attract more digital nomads.

“Digital nomads are changing the whole economics,” said Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Tourism for government of Goa, who is in in Dubai to attend the Arabian Travel Market (ATM). “To capitalise on this trend, Goa started the hashtag Workation Goa. We are telling people, come work from our beach. In between your work meetings, go enjoy some water sports and feast on the local cuisine. This has been very attractive to several people from all around the world.”

According to Khaunte, digital nomads have had a tremendous impact on the economy of the state. “Not only does it allow talent pool building but also encourages the growth of other industries,” he said. “The digital nomads don’t want a five star or a four star, so they pick up homestays. This grows the local economy as well.”

Khaunte said that digital nomads normally contribute about 35 per cent of their salaries back to the economy. “Research shows they are paid a minimum of 90 lakhs or above per annum,” he said.

Held from May 1 to May 4, ATM 2023 will host more than 2,000 exhibitors and representatives from over 150 nations and will welcome an estimated 34,000 attendees over the next four days. This is the 30th edition of the global travel, tourism, and hospitality conference.

The influx of digital nomads has led the Goa government to rework their policies and approaches. “If you look at visas, we have understood that we need a long-term visa,” said Khaunte. “It cannot be a tourist visa. It can't be the normal working visa. So, we are trying to conceptualise a new visa which we have taken up with the central government. We are pretty sure that in days to come we are going to be the first state in the country to invite digital nomads.”

Immersive experiences

Despite being known for its sun and beaches, the Goan tourism department is increasingly building a new narrative to woo more visitors.

“We have noticed that since the Covid-19 pandemic, people are more interested in immersive experiences,” said Khaunte. “We have wellness, we have adventure, we have MICE tourism happening. We have lots of opportunities in terms of eco-tourism. We have also realized that yoga plays a big role in every person's life. So, we are promoting yogic mystic spirituality as well.”

According to Khaunte, these initiatives are proving advantageous for the state in several ways. “One is to extend the stay of a tourist who comes for a short period,” he said. “Normally a domestic tourist comes for about four nights and the international stay is about nine nights. With this type of exploration of new infrastructure, we are extending the stay of tourists. Many of them leave longing for more. We are pretty sure that we will build up a new story for Goa in the days to come.”

The state has been building new tourism packages as well for visitors with a focus on homestay caravan tourism, adventure wellness and combo offers. “Some people come for five days,” he said. “They spend two days partying or enjoying the beach and then the remaining three days they want to have a wellness retreat. So we are listening to what the tourist wants and trying to build various packages.”