European Cities Target Digital Nomads With These New Pitches

Tourist boards across Europe are being urged to consider diverting some of their budget away from attracting traditional tourists towards digital nomads.

The main appeal is they typically stay for longer periods and have more disposable income, argues destination marketing agency Toposophy in a new report it published with European Cities Marketing. That money also tends to get spent over a wider geographic area as nomads prefer to seek out new places.

What's more, digital nomads may even help alleviate the growing problem of labor crunch and "freshen up" the local jobs market, according to head of insights Peter Jordan. "Some cities may also want to widen their search not just for visitors, but global talent as well," he said during an online launch event. "Most cities want to increase the pool of flexible skilled workers because it makes for a more attractive business investment environment."

The hard part is convincing them to visit a city in the first place, and getting the right messages out will be important over the coming months as cities look to recover from the pandemic.

As any self-respecting tour operator would agree, a well defined package holds the key. The report outlines free internet, event listings and partnerships with local co-working spaces and accommodation providers, alongside a dedicated tourism office hub to provide the information.

"Link them together to create a whole package. Digital nomads can then consider this when looking at the city," added Kash Bhattacharya, Toposophy's blogger outreach specialist and founder of The Budget Traveller, speaking at the same event. "My biggest recommendation is to try a