How Digital Nomadism Is Changing the Entrepreneurship Landscape
Lockdowns and border closures have created a new era for digital nomadism
By | Anton Lucanus | www.entrepreneur.com
The pandemic has accelerated the growth of remote work and has transformed the landscape into something much more dynamic. While digital nomadism has existed since before the inception of Web2, with Steve Roberts being called the first digital nomad, it wasn’t until social media became a forerunner in today’s society that it really took off. Now, paired with the transformative changes that lockdowns and border closures have implemented, we are seeing emergent trends that point towards a new culture that will go on to transform retail, commerce and entrepreneurship.
Related: Answers to All Your Digital-Nomad Questions
Work is redefined by growing desires for travel
Travel is seen as an escape from our humdrum lives and the conventional 9-to-5 jobs. With the rise of remote positions and a shift from traditional working roles, people are in a position to travel much more freely and will also be used as a tool in order to rebuild the travel industry.
“Covid-19 briefly wrecked the travel industry because of closed borders and travel restrictions, but we now see a very strong recovery. Domestic or localized travel has also become trendy and we’re focusing on fostering the local economy and supporting small businesses,” says David Stewart of Guide to Europe, a platform that gives users the ability to book tours and discover Europe without having to waste their energy sourcing for flights and research, making travel planning much more convenient.
“Travel and business have become intrinsically linked and in a digitized world where many operations can be done remotely, there’s no reason to foster the kind of growth that will eradicate borders and office hours,” explains a digital nomad who has been backpacking in Asia even during the midst of the pandemic, saying that being unable to fly home wasn’t a problem for him, as he enjoyed his life on the road and had a programming job that could facilitate his lifestyle. The digital nomad, who prefers to go unnamed, elaborated by adding, “I’m sure that travel culture will evolve and become an entity that challenges current societal norms. There’ll still be people who crave the stability of an American Dream, but for the rest of us, we won’t have to contend with those same values and still be respected and taken seriously for what we do.”