report_think tank_digital_nomads

2022
DIGITAL NOMADS
C H A L L E N G E S P R O B L E M S O P P O R T U N I T I E S

THE
FUTURE OF
TOURISM
In the past years, Portugal has
strengthened its position as the
world's best destination when
it comes to Tourism. The
Tourism sector represented
more than 14,8% of the GDP in
2019, placing Portugal in the
top 5 European countries
where Tourism contributes
more to the GPD. With the
immense growth of the sector
in recent years, the highest values on
record, Tourism operators have
increased, there is more demand,
more supply, more investment and
more tourists.
Even though the Tourism
sector has grown quite rapidly,
its territorial distribution
is still felt in the rural areas of
Portugal, where rural Tourism
and nature experiences are
now taking a step towards
new developing opportunities.
However, the digital transformation
of the Tourism sector is crucial, and
creating a qualified offer for the new
tourist profile will be the key to
sustainable growth.
While the pandemic situation
battered an array of business sectors,
tourism sector activity took the
heaviest hit. Tourism activities
experienced an upturn, however
international tourist arrivals were still
below the pre-pandemic year of
2019. The rebuilding of the tourism
for the future is crucial, and the
challenge remains: how can we bring
tourism back better?
More and more initiatives have
been organized with a national effort
to bring new and innovative
approaches to the traditional Tourism
we used to know.
From identifying challenges and
creating startups to helping the
startups to grow, many contributions
have been made in order to keep the
sector growing disruptively but
sustainably.
The result of this effort is the
entrepreneurial community we can
now find in Portugal, united to face the
adversities and conquer new markets
and business models.
With the increase of tourism
startups comes the necessity to
create a match between the needs
of the market and the startups’
products and services.
Hence, this necessity urges us to create
platforms and build bridges
that can identify the needs of the
market, before and after the pandemic,
and make sure the entrepreneurial
ecosystem is aligned with the real pains
of their customers.
Digital Nomadism in particular has
gained more and more fans around the
world specially after the pandemic.
We focus this study in particular digital
nomads segment since it is an
increasingly trend in today's society
that attracts more and more people to
Portugal, which is considered one of
the best destinations for nomads in the
world.
However, there is still a long way to go,
full of opportunities and this report is a
first step towards responding to the
biggest challenges in this segment.
2

WHAT TO
EXPECT
O N E
________CONTEXT
Why are we here?
3
T W O
___________SURVEY RESULTS
What are the challenges?
T H R E E
________THINK TANK
Thinking the sector
F O U R
____________CONCLUSIONS
Thoughts and opportunities

W H Y A R E
______WE HERE?
CONTEXT

WHY ARE
WE HERE?
NEST – Tourism Innovation Center of Portugal joined forces with Fábrica de Startups to create
a diagnostic cycle of Think Tanks aiming to study the Portuguese Tourism market and identify
main challenges, needs, and opportunities within the Tourism innovation processes.
Six main vertical areas of the Tourism sector were identified in order to conduct the study,
namely: Gastronomy & Restaurants, Hospitality, Tourism Activities, Points of Interest, Wine
Tourism and Digital Nomads.
5
Each cycle was divided into 3 steps, firstly a survey, secondly a Think Tank, and thirdly a report.
S U R V E Y
On the first step, a survey was conducted
and distributed through a selected group
of specialists who are decision-makers,
responsible for defining strategies, and
ensuring operational processes within
each of the vertical areas. Throughout
the survey, we have collected information
regarding the main challenges in the sector and
the future opportunities regarding
innovation, digitalization and sustainability.
T H I N K T A N K
For the Think Tank, we have invited
a selected group of people, including
digital nomads and B2B services for
nomads with proven experience in
the sector, to participate in a dynamic
workshop. The Think Tank was conducted
to identify specific internal and external
struggles in the sector in order to generate
a set of potential opportunities for new
products, services and businesses.
R E P O R T
This report intends to portrait the
results of the sixth cycle of innovation
regarding identifying new opportunities
for the future of the Tourism sector,
mainly, the Digital Nomads segment.

JOÃO
MENDES
“
Digital nomadism will grow and become standard.
Anyone who is not a nomad will be a digital sedentary.
”
FOOTPRINT
NOMAD

VERTICAL
AREAS
GASTRONOMY AND RESTAURANTS
HOSPITALITY
7
Considered as a cultural patrimony,
gastronomy is proven to be one of
the main factors when choosing a
touristic destination.
Breaking records in the occupancy rate
in 2019, the hospitality sector has grown
rapidly, at the point of attracting
international investment in Portugal.
How is the sector adjusting to the online
channels?
Are restaurants taking advantage of the
new technologies?
How to engage with their communities?
What has changed in the hospitality sector?
How to leverage new technology?
What are the new trends and customer
behaviors?
REPORT AVAILABLE
REPORT AVAILABLE
TOURISM ACTIVITIES
POINTS OF INTEREST
The success factor is to differentiate your
solution and correctly targeting it.
The patrimony of Portugal is equally
spread through its territory, whether
we are talking about museums, palaces
or nature.
What is the future customer journey?
How to become more sustainable?
How to add value and create an unforgettable
and repeatable experience?
How to analyze the fluxes of tourists?
How to guarantee an easy and sustainable
mobility of tourists?
How to leverage tech solutions?
REPORT AVAILABLE
REPORT AVAILABLE

VERTICAL
AREAS
WINE TOURISM
As an emergent sector and part of the
cultural patrimony Wine Tourism is proven
to be one relevant area when choosing a
touristic destination.
DIGITAL NOMADS
Portugal has become one of the most preferred
destinations for this segment. Offering
everything that nomads seek while working in a
foreign country.
8
How to diversify customers?
How to guarantee a personalized service?
How to create successful campaigns?
How to train the workforce?
Can we create a national incentive plan?
How can insurance companies develop new
products?
How to create more engagement on the local
REPORT AVAILABLE
communities?
How can we create new digital products and
services?
REPORT AVAILABLE

DIGITAL
NOMADS
Digital nomadism is a real trend with 35 million digital nomads all over the world in 2021. Over the
years this lifestyle already duplicated its community in some countries.
It is a growing market with high potential, and it got even more relevance after two years of pandemic
restrictions. People realized that, in most of the jobs, it is possible to work from almost every part of
the world. The location is not relevant anymore.
Initially the big motivation was to have more freedom and meet new cultures and new countries.
Afterwards the digital nomad community realized that this lifestyle improved their work-life balance
with a positive impact on their lives.
Digital nomads only need a few tools to work remotely: a laptop, tablet, or smartphone with internet
access through Wi-Fi or a cellular hot-spot: simple as that!
Usually it’s easier to became a nomad as a single person, but the statistics tell us that the number of
families increases on a daily basis.
This lifestyle is gaining more and more followers and it is becoming the "new normal" of working,
having more and more fans around the world and revolutionizing the existing work models until then.
9
How to create innovative
concepts to attract nomads to
Portugal?
How to improve their
experience providing all
the products and services
they need?
How to retain talent
and make people stay
longer and increase
the connection with
locals?

MIGUEL
COSTA
“
Digital nomadism, in addition to being natural and inevitable, will be
revolutionary on a personal level, for countries and for the planet as a whole.
”
NOMAD HOMES

W H A T A R E T H E
______CHALLENGES
SURVEY RESULTS

MARIA INÊS
CABRAL
“
The future of digital nomadism involves the experience of sharing coexistence
between different cultures, moving from country to country will make you grow
professionally and personally.
”
LACS
CREATORS

THE
SURVEY
The survey was sent and
answered by a group of 32
particular people to make a
diagnostic regarding the
current situation of the
Digital Nomads sector.
Most of our invited experts were
Digital Nomads (65%) with
Portuguese nationality (41%)
between 35 to 49 years old. They are
nomads for 2 to 5 years
and they already lived in around
13
Among the selected group of
people, there were digital nomads
but also service providers (B2B) for
the sector, namely co-work spaces
(LACS, Dinamo 10, Idea Spaces, Office
Work Beato, Lagos Digital), co-living
(Selina, Digital Nomada Caparica,
Nomad Home) or services for
nomads (Travelb4settle, Nomadismo
Digital Portugal, Footprint Nomad,
Remote Europe, Amazon Web
Services or Tripr).
The diversity of the groups was
crucial to identify the key
challenges across the value
chain of the sector.
3 to 6 different countries.
The goal of this survey was to have
a qualitative approach to the
challenges and opportunities
of the sector while shaping
the approach during the Think Tank.
The following pages represent
the main results of the survey,
by pointing out the main
challenges, problems, and
opportunities.
The results are splitted in two
different parts: Digital Nomads
profile and Service Providers for
Digital Nomads.

14
PROFILE
DIGITAL NOMADS

PROFILE
15
DIGITAL NOMADS
The big majority of the respondents are Digital Nomads (65%) and most of them are Portuguese (41%).
35%
6%
13%
3% 3% 6%
3%
6%
3%
Argentina
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Colombia
65%
41%
6%
3%
6%
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Portugal
UK
USA
I'm a Digital Nomad
Venezuela
I work in a company that provides services to digital nomads

PROFILE
DIGITAL NOMADS
68% have already lived in up to 6 different countries and most of
them are currently living in Portugal (78%).
16
>50
34% 34%
19%
13%
21-34
41%
Up to 3 countries Between 3 and 6
countries
Between 6 and 10
countries
More than 10
countries
35-49
56%
3% 3%3%
7%
Most of them have between 35 and 49 years old
6%
Turkey
Austria
Netherlands
Bulgaria
Spain
Portugal
78%

PROFILE
DIGITAL NOMADS
17
The majority of digital nomads that are living in Portugal at the moment are in Lisbon or Lisbon Metropolitan Area
(28%), followed by Oporto (19%) and Algarve (19%) and most of them work on digital marketing area.
Lisbon and Lisbon Metropolitan Area
28%
Oporto and North
19%
Algarve
19%
Ma deira
16%
Programmer
16%
Entrepreneur
13%
I don't live in Portugal
16%
Center
3%
Project
Management
6%
Digital Marketing
28%
Others
25%
Business Developer
9%
Designer
3%

PROFILE
DIGITAL NOMADS
18
63% of the nomads are single nomads and most of them thinks that Portugal is a very good destination for nomads.
Nomad
Family
Nomad
Couple
31%
Single
nomad
63%
44% 44%
13%
0% 0%
1 2 3 4 5
PORTUGAL IS A BAD
DESTINATION FOR NOMADS
PORTUGAL IS A GREAT
DESTINATION FOR NOMADS

PROFILE
19
DIGITAL NOMADS
The biggest reason to became a digital nomad is, for 34% of the respondents, the great desire of freedom but also a way to
discover new countries and cultures (28%).
Most of them (47%) thinks that most countries doesn’t have a complete offer for nomad’s way of life, but they all agree there’s
already some dedicated offer for the segment.
Greater desire for freedom
34%
16%
To discover new countries and cultures
Lifestyle
22%
28%
37%
Yes, there are already conditions to be a
digital nomad in most countries
To balance personal and professional life
9%
Not really, but there is already some
dedicated offer for digital nomads.
Survive
3%
No, is still difficult to be a digital nomad in
most countries
To leave my home country
3%
47%

MAIN
CHALLENGES
20
They consider the biggest challenge of being a digital nomad as the government bureaucracy (21%) and the lack of an integrated
offer for services such as accommodation, working spaces, mobility solutions, and so on.
Lots of government bureaucracy
21%
Few offer of integrated services: accommodation, co-work space, restaurants, mobility, etc
19%
We ak communication infrastructure e.g: internet coverage
15%
No nomad community in some countries
15%
Countries still without integrated and dedicated offers for digital nomads
13%
Access to health systems
10%
We ak digitization of services and offer
7%

21
PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
FOR DIGITAL NOMADS
(B2B)

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
22
Most of the service providers for nomads are Portuguese (82%) and they are mainly from Lisbon and Lisbon
metropolitan area (76%).
18%
Lisbon and Tejo Valey
76%
I'm not in Portugal
12%
82%
Ma deira
6%
Portuguese
Non- Portuguese
Algarve
6%

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
23
Most of the service providers are owners (47%) of small companies (up to 10 employees).
6%
47%
47%
>100
24%
*
Ma nager Owner Other
0-10
53%
* * *
10-30
18%
30-50
6%
* nr of employees

PROFILE
24
SERVICE PROVIDERS
Mainly they characterize their business as “other” option and they mentioned services such as: community management,
advertising, events & conferences, touristic tours, or retail. The average cost of their services is under 100€.
41%
29%
Hospitality and
Accommodation
Coworking Space
Mo bility
Other
100€ - 300€
18%
500€ - 1000€
18%
6%
24%
< 100€
53%
300€ - 500€
6%
>1000€
6%
Average price per service

PROFILE
25
SERVICE PROVIDERS
When asked about the maturity of the digital component of their businesses the opinions are divided between “very mature”
and “mature”.
They characterize their nomad customers as between 21 to 34 years old.
<20; 6%
35-49; 18%
35%
35%
6%
12%
12%
21-34; 76%
NOT MATURE AT ALL
1 2 3 4 5
VERY MATURE
AGE RANGE

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
26
Their nomad customers especially come from other European countries and they consider their financial situation as
“stable” and “very stable”.
Brazil
20%
USA
25%
European
Countries
55%
41%
35%
12%
12%
0%
1 2 3 4 5
LOW FINANCIAL
AVAILABILITY
HIGH FINANCIAL
AVAILABILITY

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
27
Nomads represent nowadays around 30% of sales of their revenue.
18%
24%
29%
12%
18%
1 2 3 4 5
LOW IMPACT ON
REVENUE
HIGH IMPACT ON
REVENUE

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
28
They consider the creation of a digital nomad community in the destination the biggest challenge for the sector in
the short-medium term.
Develop a community of digital nomads in the destination
16%
Increase involvement with the local community
Improve government bureaucracy
Create daily schedule, e.g.: talks, professional workshops, etc
Ensuring a significant volume of visitors
11%
11%
11%
11%
Diversify the offer of services
9%
Define strategy to compete with international destinations
Ensure communication infrastructure
7%
7%
Diversify target audience
Ma intain flexibility in the work regime
Create tourist offer to promote the region / country
5%
5%
5%
Qualify human resources to use new technologies
2%

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
29
In terms of new opportunities for their businesses they selected as top 3: Test new products or services (22%),
New customer profile (20%) and Digitalization (20%).
New Consumer Profile
20%
Spaces adapted to
the segment
14%
Sustainability
14%
Test New Products
22%
Digitilization
20%
Quality of services provided
10%

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
30
They consider the main concerns for the digital nomads, especially the bureaucracy obstacles (25%) and the lack of an
integrated offer (23%).
Service quality
14%
Integration with Tourist
Offer
11%
Smaller
Agglomeration of
People
7%
Bureaucratic obstacles
25%
Lack of Integrated
Offer, 23%
Sustainability
11%
Digital Offer
7%
Health Security
2%

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
31
71% believes that nomads will resume in a short period (less than one year), this means that the number of nomads will
return in 2022.
They also consider that creating a positive impact on local communities like, for example, job generation and cultural
aspects are the main strategies to attract the nomad segment.
Positive impact on local communities (job
generation) and cultural aspects
60%
Search for local suppliers and resources
20%
71%
Agile resource sharing and transfer
13%
24%
< 1 Year Between 1 and 2 years > 2 Years
6%
Neutral or positive impact on the environment
7%

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
32
In terms of the most relevant areas to digitalize to attract nomads for the business, they consider the appointment
channel the major pain to be overcome (31%).
Marketing
13%
The Offer Itself
13%
Internal Operation
Management
13%
Appointment Channel
31%
Delivery Channel
13%
Communication Channel
13%
To make
tourism
omnichannel
6%

PROFILE
SERVICE PROVIDERS
33
Most of them invested in technology in the past 2 years (76%) especially in Digital Marketing and social
media management (33%).
Digital marketing & social media
33%
No
24%
We bsite creation and management
Data analysis tools
13%
25%
GDPR and database
13%
Microso ft office
8%
Yes
76%
Planning programs
Financial software
4%
4%

BUSINESS
DIGITALIZATION
34
Most of the businesses don’t have a digital component for internal operation management (21%) or for the
offer itself (21%). They classified the technical capacity of their employees to implement new digital
solutions as “good” or “very good”.
Internal operation management
21%
The offer itself
21%
Sales channel
16%
Delivery channel
16%
Communication channel
Appointment channel
11%
11%
41%
29%
Ma rketing
5%
12%
6%
12%
1 2 3 4 5

RESOURCES &
TECHNOLOGY
35
In terms of technological solutions, they consider urgent solutions for digital marketing & social media management (16%) and
also data analysis tools (16%). For the digital nomad segment they think digital platforms (20%) and the automation of
operations (18%) are the most critical to obtain as soon as possible to attract nomads.
37%
Digital marketing & social media
Data analysis tools
16%
16%
Reservation systems
14%
Planning programs
CRM Solutions
12%
12%
We bsite creation and management
App creation and management
8%
8%
Operation management systems
Financial software
6%
6%
GDPR and database
AI development
2%
2%

T H I N K I N G
______THE SECTOR
THINK TANK RESULTS

CONCEPT
The Think Tank was an online session with the presence of a group of experts in the field of Digital Nomadism,
coming together to think about the main struggles of the sector and explore future opportunities to solve them.
37
A group of 21 people was invited to participate in a dynamic workshop regarding the future of the sector.
The workshop was conducted by Fábrica de Startups using a design thinking approach to identify challenges,
find main struggles and detect possible solutions. Before the Think Tank, Fábrica de Startups selected the main
4 challenges the sector is facing at the moment, based on the results of the survey. These challenges represent
the foundation of the exercise where each team is assigned a specific challenge. Subsequently, each team will
have to choose a specific customer segment and go through the customer journey to find the key frustrations.
After identifying the main pains of the customer segment, participants are invited to evaluate and select only
one problem to which they will, later, find possible solutions.
During the think tank the following metrics were taking into consideration:
S I X
T H R E E
T W E N T Y F O U R
T W E L V E
Customer segments
Different contexts
Problems and pains
Opportunities/solutions
On the next pages, we will show you the process that each team went through and the main conclusions. The outcome is specific enough to be more than
just a theorical exercise but broad enough to allow different approaches to the identified problems and opportunities.

FOUR
CHALLENGES
38
Before the Think Tank and taking into consideration the results of the survey, Fábrica de Startups selected the
main 4 challenges the sector is facing at the moment. These were the challenges that shaped the Think Tank
focused on the Digital Nomads sector:
O N E
OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT BUREAUCRACY
Public services available in english
Effective public digital services
Incentives plan creation for Digital Nomads
T H R E E
ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS INTEGRATED OFFER
Convert Digital Nomads into Digital Residents
Engagement with local communities
Efficient campaigns to retain talent
T W O
IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH SYSTEMS
Health services for Digital Nomads
New insurance products & services
Understanding of national health system
F O U R
CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES
Tourism services adapted to digital nomadism
Tourism workforce qualification for this new
segment
Create new digital products and services

SARA
AGUIAR
“
The future of digital nomadism is about being entrepreneurs with our own lives,
having control over where we are and how we want to live our lives.
”
AMAZON WEB
SERVICES

OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT
BUREAUCRACY: OPPORTUNITY #1
40
CHALLENGE #1
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
This is the step where nomads
start looking for the offers
available in the market.
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
Create a single platform all-in-one (website
and/or app), transversal to all Digital
Nomads' needs with all the information
aggregated in one single place.
The solution named “E-Residency Program”
should be able to address all needs for
nomads, such as tax number, social security
access, bank account, and so on.
DIGITAL NOMADS
YOUNG ADULTS
1
C O N T E X T
When nomads are planning their arrival
in Portugal or leaving the country they
struggle to gather the necessary
information. Services are not integrated
and most of the time documents are not
the same for global markets. For example,
opening a bank account needs a tax
number, and address registered with a tax
authority or a legal representative. Also,
when going abroad, the bank needs to
have a Portuguese mobile number in order
to send text messages and allow
transactions.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
In doing their research, finding
accommodation and being
able to collect the necessary
documents for a long-term
stay is identified
as a problem.
3
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT
BUREAUCRACY: OPPORTUNITY #2
41
CHALLENGE #1
YOUNG ADULTS AND
REMOTE WORKERS
RESEARCH
This is the step where the nomad is
choosing the next destination
and starts searching for information
about all the options available.
1
C O N T E X T
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
For a digital nomad is very hard to
understand Portuguese bureaucracy
such as the local tax system, national
laws, and so on.
Most of the time the available
information is not enough, and
services are inconsistent. Adding to
this, many institutional websites are
not available in English and the
complexity of doing some basic things
is hard to overcome.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
It’s difficult to understand
available Visa options,
application procedures
and requirements
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
Creation of an online toolbok with a
simplified process that decodes all
procedures associated with the Portuguese
model. This toolbox will act as manual with
instructions for a problem-solving
mechanism.
The creation of a single and unique “ID
number” for everything (taxes, health,
and social security) will simplify
foreigners' stay.
At the same time, the plaftform will
compile usefull informations such as
coliving or coworking options.
3
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

OVERCOME GOVERNAMENT
BUREAUCRACY: OPPORTUNITY #3
CHALLENGE #1
42
RESEARCH
This is the step where nomads start
looking for the offers available
in the market.
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
Creation of a national and official organism
(e.g. nomad’s desk) to provide specific
assistance for nomads who want to come
to Portugal. This public organization will
work to address digital nomads' needs and
work liaising with public entities to find
solutions and overcome real obstacles.
YOUNG ADULTS
1
C O N T E X T
Lack of information about procedures
creates real obstacles for digital nomads
that want to come to Portugal, causing
them to give up and choose
other destinations.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Depend on third-party
companies to be able
to move forward.
3
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

FERNANDO
JARDIM
“
The country that creates the most integrated offer for digital nomads will make
the industry more competitive.
”
TRIPr

IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH
SYSTEMS: OPPORTUNITY #1
CHALLENGE #2
44
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
This is the step where customers start looking
for the offers available in the market.
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
Creation of a special VISA or Residency Card
program for Digital Nomads that allows
access to the National Health System.
This program presumes that doctors have
previously been assessed to know what
foreign languages they speak and includes
an online booking system for health
appointments.
FAMILIES OR
ADULTS ELDERLY
1
C O N T E X T
Access to health care services for single
nomads and their families is very difficult
to obtain. This problem increases when we
are addressing nomads with +50 years.
There are no solutions to access the public
health system and only a few solutions
in the private sector.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Quality of health services
might not be the same
as in the home
country.
3
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH
SYSTEMS: OPPORTUNITY #2
CHALLENGE #2
45
RESEARCH
This is the step where customers start looking for
the offers available in the market.
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
Creation of a guideline for digital nomads
when coming to Portugal. This will compile
and give them the necessary information
related to Portuguese national health
system. Should be created a specific service
that can be paid for them and that will
serve as a health insurance, flexible for the
duration of their stay.
1
C O N T E X T
Access to information is the critical
point when families are preparing for
the trip and also when they are already
in Portugal and they still don’t know how
to react in case of an emergency.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Language barrier is also a
problem because the national
Health system is not
available in other
languages.
3
FAMILIES
O P P O R T U N I T I E S
(MIDDLE CLASS)

IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH
SYSTEMS: OPPORTUNITY #3
46
CHALLENGE #2
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
When customers search for
the available information
1
C O N T E X T
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
The digital nomads living in Portugal do
not understand the options available in
health support, and the differences in
the public and private sectors are not
clear.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Difficulty to find the available
options for health systems
Creation of an online platform that will
serve as a marketplace with all the
contents related to different health
systems. This way, all the services, with
different prices, will be available. The most
important specifications of the platform
should be the list of medical specialties,
online booking and consultation and
reviews from other users.
The platform should have additional
information, such as the rules of
the country to access public and
private health care.
3
DIGITAL NOMADS
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

ALLAN
SOUSA
“
Digital nomadism should create wealth and development.
”
DIGITAL NOMAD
CAPARICA

CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES:
OPPORTUNITY #1
48
CHALLENGE #3
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
BOOKING
When customers need to book services
according to their needs.
2
P R O B L E M S
Create a new service to help hotels
adapt to this new customer
segment. This service will help on
the transformation of current
1
C O N T E X T
MAIN PROBLEM:
For Digital Nomads accommodations in
hotels are not suitable because they
don't adapt to their needs. Most
accommodations are not prepared for
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Identifying available options in
the market
spaces into co-living spaces for
nomads. It should combine design,
construction and operations and
help with all the services and
spaces dedicated to nomads
someone to work from the room, the
lifestyle. 3
internet is not stable, there are no co-
DIGITAL NOMADS
working spaces, no kitchen, no
community, and so
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES:
OPPORTUNITY #2
49
CHALLENGE #3
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
When customers plan all the activities during
the stay.
2
P R O B L E M S
Creation of a new workspace whose
market segment are digital nomads and
local workers. The main focus of these
places will be the creation of synergies
between projects, so networking managed
by a community manager is crucial.
MAIN PROBLEM:
DIGITAL NOMADS
1
C O N T E X T
Lack of places to function as workspace
both for Nomads and Locals. Currently,
there are no options for the
development of a community that
gathers remote workers and local
people. The marketing and promotion
are not focusing on building a
community, only on promoting coworking
offers.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Not knowing the basic needs of
nomads
3
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES:
OPPORTUNITY #3
50
CHALLENGE #3
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
This is the step where customers start looking
for the offers available in the market.
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
Creation of a platform that aggregates
information and allows identify and
characterize the profile of digital nomads,
their needs and objectives. This data
collection will be a tool to create local (and
national) offers that will attract digital
nomads.
1
C O N T E X T
Lack of communication between the
municipalities in Portugal and all
stakeholders that are trying to reach
nomads, or are already working with
this segment. This lack of
communication makes it difficult to
understand the needs of nomads and
create an integrated offer.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Governance models that
are weak or non-existent.
3
CITY COUNCILOR
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

LÍGIA
GOMES
“
The future of digital nomadism is being able to work anywhere without any
issues. It makes no sense to question anymore whether we should work
remotely or not.
”
USABILITY
HUB

ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
INTEGRATED OFFER: OPPORTUNITY #1
52
CHALLENGE #4
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
When customers plan all the activities during
the stay.
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
Creation of an aggregator platform
capable of helping community managers
to compile and provide information. This
platform will be used by service providers
to create or adapt their offers, and will
serve for digital nomads who want to hire
services.
1
C O N T E X T
When planning their stay, Digital
Nomads face the problem of reaching
and getting information from diferent
service providers. The information is
dispersed across different websites
and it is difficult to make decisions
comparing offers (e.g. workspace, F&B,
infrastructure, and so on).
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Lack of connection with local
communities
3
DIGITAL NOMADS
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
INTEGRATED OFFER : OPPORTUNITY #2
53
CHALLENGE #4
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
RESEARCH
When customers plan all the activities during
the stay.
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
Creation of a centralized platform with
guidelines and processes that help finding
information for available services.
Specifically for families this is very
important as they are very specific needs
(e.g. accomodation, health, schools, social
activities, taxes, and so on).
FAMILIES
(MIDDLE CLASS)
1
C O N T E X T
Lack of clear and organized
information that help Nomad Families
with integration in the social,
residential, and fiscal aspects of local
communities. Misinformation or lack
of information create difficulties for
Nomads and friction in their daily lives.
This problem makes it difficult for
destinations/countries to stand out
from others and for Nomads to feel
that they are part of a place.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Lack of connection with local
communities
3
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
INTEGRATED OFFER: OPPORTUNITY #3
54
CHALLENGE #4
MAIN OPPORTUNITY:
COMING BACK
After the experience guarantee that
people will repeat it once again
1
C O N T E X T
2
P R O B L E M S
MAIN PROBLEM:
Lack of strategies and coordination to
retain nomads in the country. There is
not enough information about Nomads
and their behaviour, therefore is
difficult retain they here.
SECONDARY PROBLEM:
Finding local partners
(e.g. accountant)
The solutions is the creation of a
dedicated CRM system that will allow
you to collect information about
behaviours, needs, or even
consumption patterns. This
information will allow this
community to get closer to local
communities, increasing the
probability of creating connections
and retention.
3
DIGITAL NOMADS
YOUNG ADULTS
O P P O R T U N I T I E S

LUDMILA
REBOLA
“
Digital nomadism is great for the flexibility it creates, but it is only possible if the
tax system adapts to this new situation.
”
NOMADISMO DIGITAL
PORTUGAL

T H O U G H T S A N D
______OPPORTUNITIES
CONCLUSIONS

CONCLUSIONS
The survey combined with the Think Tank’s
session outputs allowed us to recognize and
categorize several challenges and trends that the
digital nomads sector is facing. During both
phases, experts in the area, service providers
and Digital Nomads come together to reflect on
the main struggles that need to be solved in the
short-mid term.
Our specialists (nomads and service providers)
concluded that nomads sector has an enormous
potential in Portugal since it’s not developed and
so, there’s a big margin for growth and
development.
From the beginning of the journey when they
decide to come to Portugal as the next stop,
challenges exist in all contexts..
In terms of bureaucracy there are several
obvious improvements to be done.
Aggregating all the information for the nomads
in a single platform or app to centralize
information, and integrate of services for greater
convenience must be a priority. Clear
information on the local tax system, country
laws, access to healthcare, etc. The language
barrier is still a real problem: it is urgent to adapt
the website to an international audience so that
everyone has access to information.
The creation of a special VISA or Residency Card
is an idea worth considering given the
exponential growth of the segment.
Access to the health system is also a big
challenge for a nomad. The information is spread
all over, it’s difficult to get access to the public
health system for a short stay in the country, and
sometimes health services don’t speak English.
In this way, it will be very interesting to create a
single online tool with all the rules and
legislation for public and private access to public
health systems, also with a marketplace of
private services with different health specialties
and doctors available, with rating and reviews,
must be possible to book an online medical
appointment.
Regarding the lack of integrated services, the
participants mostly agreed that this is a critical
issue. So, the possibility to adapt and transform
old buildings/hotels into a new concept by
designing, building, and managing new spaces
with all the basic integrated services such as:
accommodation, shared kitchen, and co-work
space with a community manager to take care of
the space and promote events for nomads.
These new spaces will be considered the centers
for nomads and they must be “the place” to go.
They must be, of course, well-identified and
communicated to attract the right people at the
moment of choosing a place to stay.
To face the challenge of creating a public
integrated offer it was clear that the creation of
a centralized institutional online platform with
simple and organized information is crucial, as
also the creation of a CRM to know better the
nomad’s profile and to adapt the services to
their needs and proactively connect them with
local communities so they can be tied up with
Portugal.
After all this, it will be possible to create the
perfect conditions to attract more digital nomads
to Portugal. They consider the country has a
great combination of advantages, but there’s still
some way to grow the connection with this new
segment that nowadays tends to grow
exponentially.
57

MAIN
CHALLENGES
58
OVERCOME GOVERNAMENTAL BUREAUCRACY
FOCUS: how to surpass the bureaucratic obstacles when arriving into a new
country as a nomad
IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH SYSTEMS
FOCUS: how to guaranty access to health systems for a nomad that will stay
in the country for a specific period of time
How to access to the correct information and available in english?
How to simplify all the processes?
How to aggregate all the information in one single place?
How to ensure access to health systems when you are a nomad?
How to create the right conditions to attract nomads with minimum
risks?
How to concentrate all the information about access to health
issues?
- Create a single platform “all-in-one” transversal to all Digital Nomads'
needs with all the information aggregated: “E-Residency Program”
- Construction of an online toolbox with a simplified process that decodes
all procedures associated with the Portuguese model
- Creation of a national and official organism (e.g. nomad’s desk) to provide
specific assistance for nomads who want to come to Portugal
- Creation of a special VISA or Residency Card program for Digital Nomads
that allows access to the National Health System
- Guideline creation for digital nomads when coming to Portugal with all the
necessary information related to the Portuguese national health system
- Creation of an online platform that will serve as a marketplace with all the
contents related to different health systems.

MAIN
CHALLENGES
59
ENHANCE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS INTEGRATED OFFER
FOCUS: reinforce the public offer to retain talent in the country and promote
growth and development
CREATE INTEGRATED SERVICES
FOCUS: develop more conditions to attract nomads in therms of products and services
How to retain nomads in the country?
How to engage nomads with local communities?
How can we convert nomads into residents?
How to adapt the current offer to digital nomads?
How to qualify the workforce to be able to represent a new offer?
How to develop new products and services?
- Create a new service to help hotels adapt to this new customer segment
- Creation of new workspaces whose market segment is digital nomads and local
workers managed by a community manager
- Creation of a platform that aggregates information and allows identification
and characterize the profile of digital nomads, their needs, and objectives
- Creation of an aggregator platform capable of helping community managers
to compile and provide information
- Creation of a centralized platform with guidelines and processes that help
find information for available services
- Create a dedicated CRM system that will allow you to collect information
about behaviours, needs, or even consumption patterns

GONÇALO
HALL
“
Digital nomadism will become the norm and cease to be the exception, as will
the existence of nomad communities.
”
REMOTE
EUROPE

THANK
YOU
nestportugal.pt
fabricadestartups.com