Digital nomads are on the rise. They are working remotely and living a life of freedom and independence. They can choose to work from any location they want.
There are many places in the world where you can find these digital nomads. Some of them are optimizing digital marketing campaigns from a beach in Bali, while others are setting up a permanent home base in places like Costa Rica or Colombia.
The technology to allow remote work has existed for a while, but when the pandemic hit, it forced many companies to embrace remote work, with many of them not turning back.
Let's face it, it's a win-win scenario. Companies get to expand their talent pool while not having to increase overhead costs while workers get the freedom to work from anywhere.
And, sure some people will tell you there are challenges with remote work. Things like team bonding and blah blah blah (mostly people without their own personal lives, JK, not really.), but the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
The truth is that people are more connected than ever. Personally I communicate more with my colleagues now via tools like Slack, Monday, Glip, etc than when I used to be in-office. You can say work-from-anywhere is the new open-concept office, lol.
The line between personal and business travel is blurring. Many people find themselves combining their business and personal trips, meaning that they travel and work from their destination during the day, while enjoying the new location during evenings, nights and weekends. A high percentage of workers report feeling more productive in this type of environment (myself included).
The term "bleisure travel" used to mean people going on a business trip (usually paid by the company) and adding a weekend or a few extra days to the return flight date in order to enjoy a few extra days of leisure. But, now the term has evolved. Bleisure travel now mostly consists of people taking trips they personally pay for to work from somewhere different.
It's a refusal to accept that having a job means you can't experience life to the fullest.
Who are the bleisure travelers?
With remote workers reaching new corners of the world, this is also having an impact. The modern bleisure traveler (usually a millennial) is someone likely to take a chance on a new experience. They tend to be culturally curious, and interested in food. They have no problem traveling with their partner or friends and they are willing to spend more on their holiday experiences.
This has a direct impact financially at what are often impoverished countries, but also the direct interaction between educated millennials and their counterparts of the same age around the world is creating global exposure to career opportunities and paths that may not have had a spotlight before.
A note to bleisure travelers, but really all travelers.
It's easy to arrive somewhere new and expect to be catered to in the same way you'd be in your hometown or city. Keep in mind that you are the guest and be open to experiencing a new location as it is, without trying to adapt it to you. After all, WIFI is all we need.
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