The Growing Phenomenon of Digital Nomads: Merging Work and Travel in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

What the paper says

Digital nomads are travelers whose lifestyle is pursuing extensive travel or indefinite travel while working remotely, and not mostly staying at home. Their tourism behavior patterns do not match the traditional definition of tourists by United Nations World Tourism Organization, they are still important customers who stay longer and spend a larger tourism expenditure, thereby bringing positive influence on the financial performance of hospitality businesses and local economy. As the number of digital nomads is expected to increase, the tourism and hospitality industry should be prepared to capture them by providing adequate services. Moreover, digital nomads appear as employees in the tourism and hospitality industry, while not all of them can become digital nomads. Digital nomadism leads to inequality in mobility because of the discrepancy between digital nomads and those who cannot afford the lifestyle. In addition, while the hospitality industry is based on service encounters with guests, more remote work appears after COVID-19. However, adopting a remote work environment in the industry is not easy, as the infrastructure should be prepared through investments to support remote work in connection to the physical environment. The case study identified the main issues that need to be considered for tourism and hospitality management and marketing. Concerning the lifestyle of digital nomads, mobility posits as the core driver. In addition, establishing a supportive environment with technological infrastructure and community could help digital nomads to promote work productivity and socialization. Finally, incorporating a remote work environment in the hospitality firms to adopt digital nomadism from HR perspective.