‘Workcation Retreats’: Tourist destinations offer remote-working packages including personal assistants, to attract visitors

By Jessica Davies

The remote-working trend triggered by the pandemic is paving the way for more professionals to mix business and pleasure from exciting, exotic destinations.

With international border restrictions starting to loosen, tourism operators are seizing the chance to attract visitors by marketing themselves as remote-working hot spots, rather than vacation destinations.

And being able to work from anywhere is one of the top benefits of remote working that 32% of the 8,000 respondents in Kaspersky’s Securing the Future of Work study say they want to keep post-pandemic.

Online travel agency Loveholidays has created a ranking of top working vacation destinations, scoring countries on average temperature and rainfall, as well as the number of beaches, restaurants and shopping malls. But it is now also showcasing accommodation, activities and discounts for remote workers along with information on how long they can stay without a visa.

Its Maldives destination promotes a “Work Effectively” package which promotes the pairing of work and wellness and offers an “oceanfront workstation” with a strong WiFi connection. It will even provide a personal assistant to help with day-to-day duties like checking flight information, organizing work and social schedules, printing and admin.

Meanwhile the Seychelles is promoting its “Workcation Retreat” packages which include discounts for anyone using its resorts to stay longer and work remotely, with the ability to extend workcation permits to family members and access to healthcare facilities also provided.

Loveholidays’ top 10 features are Dubai, Aruba, Thailand, Mauritius, Antigua, Turks & Caicos, St Lucia, Bermuda, Seychelles and Namibia. U.S. visitors can stay in these countries between 30 and 90 days either with no visa or a tourist visa on arrival. It’s a similar story for U.K. visitors, although they need a visa for Thailand.

Holiday havens like Barbados and Bermuda have of course pioneered digital nomad visas, allowing people to work and live freely there for up to two years (conditions and fee permitting). But for those able to commit to that length of time in one place, the working vacation could be the solution.

Thailand is high on Texas-based Australian entrepreneur Sarah Hawley’s list, who is an advocate of blending work and travel. For now, road-tripping around the U.S. in a campervan with her husband, former NFL player Joe Hawley, and their baby son, is fulfilling her travel fix. Hawley, who is the CEO and founder of remote jobs matching platform, Growmotely, said they often travel with their family nanny, but otherwise she and her husband divide childcare between themselves as her husband also runs his own business, The Hart Collective, which helps former male professional athletes find a purpose beyond sports.

“The main reason I work while I’m away is because I like to travel and adventure most of the time. Usually you wouldn’t find me in one place for more than three weeks. I get bored easily, and feel more creative with movement and adventure in my life. Because of this, I just work wherever I am,” said Hawley, who believes more …read more

Source:: Digiday