Focus: Government strategy, tourism

Barbados explores launch of a “digital nomad” visa to allow you to work remotely there 1 year — Adventurely
Ready to “work from anywhere” but frustrated with the limited options to do so abroad? Barbados might be coming to your rescue soon! Yesterday it was reported that the Barbados government “is considering introducing the 12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp to allow visitors the option to work remotely
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The world has been shoved into working remotely thanks to Covid-19. Countries like Barbados are considering using this as a marketing tactic to attract people to come and stay in the country as digital nomads on their 12-month Welcome Stamp.

Barbados has long been a hotspot for freelancers looking to simultaneously work and travel and the visa restrictions are quite nonexistent. Most US nationals can stay up to 6 months without a visa, but the introduction of this 'Welcome Stamp' obviously allows for extended stay.

Once the travel industry starts getting back on its feet, we may see a rise of countries with economies that rely heavily on tourism to leverage this tactic. We may perhaps witness larger growth in the digital nomad trend, as the location of where one works is not of as high an importance anymore.

This becomes particularly true when a person is earning higher income or pay in a stronger currency and is staying as a 'digital nomad' in a location with a relatively lower cost of living.

The opposite dynamic is the world is flat and businesses that outsource work based on price (a lot of companies are focusing on cost control now) will opt for the cheaper team in a developing market that produces at similar quality to the more expensive one from a developed market. Let's see how these dynamics play out.

We may start to see more of a blend between tourism and work among millennials. Just thought that this was an interesting trend to look out for. Open to hearing any thoughts on this!