Reflections on Digital Nomadism in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Effect of Policy and Place

Abstract

To the extent that digital capitalism and globalization processes have been developing, the arrival of digital nomads has grown in Spain. With the pandemic, this mobility was affected to a lesser magnitude than other types of flow. In this context, this paper deals with the study of the characteristics of digital nomads and the policies developed to attract them during the health crisis. With these objectives, the research, in relation to digital nomads, has been carried out based on the analysis of different virtual platforms, social networks, portals of collaborative workspaces and specialized events. At the same time, with respect to policies, the study has been focused on visa policy and on the actions developed by destinations to boost this type of mobility. The results obtained indicate, on the one hand, that it is not a flow of privileged people but a mobility like that of tourism related to the difference in international income. On the other hand, these results point out that the consolidation of digital nomadism during the pandemic is associated to tourism policies carried out by destinations, actions that have not valued the lack of sustainability of digital nomadism.