Digital nomads: Athens attracts like a magnet

Athens is one of the “Top 10” Fastest Growing Digital Nomad Destinations in the World! The Greek capital has achieved the tenth fastest growth among the most popular destinations worldwide in the five-year period 2018-2023.

Remote work from abroad is called the trend of the millennium or hallmark of a new generation. Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the way we work, the number of remote nomads was too small for any research to be done. Most of them traveled and worked illegally on tourist visas. It was a limited occurrence.

However, three years after COVID-19, everything has changed. The latest estimate puts the number of digital nomads in the US alone at 16.9 million, up 131% from 2019, the year before the pandemic.

What does it mean to be a digital nomad in Greece

It is estimated that in the US alone, up to 72 million people working from home are considering becoming nomads. Before the pandemic, digital nomads were mostly freelancers. Over the past two years, four more “tribes” of digital nomads have been identified: business owners, “experimenters”, “thinkers” and the fastest growing category – “employed”.

Particularly in Athens, according to data NomadList, the number of digital nomad arrivals grew by 163% over the five-year period 2018-2023, which is the tenth best in the world during this period. In 2022 alone, the number of digital nomads who voted for Athens increased by 46%, while in 2021 the corresponding increase was 128%. A recent study by the MIT Enterprise Forum found that if Greece attracted 100,000 digital nomads every year, with an average stay of 6 months, it could generate €1.6 billion in additional revenue. This amount is almost equivalent to the income from a weekly stay of 2.5 million tourists!

However, the largest increase in digital nomad preferences in the five-year period 2018-2023 was achieved by Lima, the capital of Peru, and Lisbon, Portugal: the number of arrivals to these two popular destinations increased by 256%!

A place in the “top 10” cities in the world was also taken by Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia. The “top 10” includes such exotic destinations as Bali, Indonesia, the Canary Islands, Mexico City, Belgrade and Sofia.

Uptrend
Except in 2020, when the pandemic crisis hit and digital nomads came to a halt, Athens remains on a steady upward trajectory in the ecosystem of top digital nomad destinations, according to NomadList.

Athens is a firm favorite of the world’s digital nomads: in 2019 and 2018, their flows to the Greek capital grew by 15% and 39%, respectively.

The rise of Athens in recent years, according to agents tracking the flows of digital nomads around the world, is due to improvements in infrastructure, for example in terms of connection speed (internet), tax incentives and – from the summer of 2021 – a special visa.

Who are digital nomads?

Digital nomads are those who can work remotely, from anywhere in the world, usually with the help of a computer. For example, a web designer, writer or fashion designer from Japan or the USA can come and live in Greece for a year, working from his laptop, enjoying the rest and beauty of our country.

According to surveys, the majority of digital nomads in Greece come mainly from the US, UK and Germany. The most popular destinations besides Athens, according to people in the market, are Thessaloniki, Magnesia, especially Volos and Pelion, Crete (especially Chania and Rethymno), Kalamata, Ioannina, Lesvos, Rhodes, Euboea and Naxos.

Greece is one of the few countries in Europe that favorably treats immigrants from Russia, issuing citizens of the Russian Federation digital nomad visas without any restrictions.

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