Last Updated on Thursday, 13 January, 2022 at 11:17 am by Andre Camilleri
In the light of more and more people embracing flexible working environments, KAYAK, the world’s leading travel search engine, has revealed the best countries in the world for blending remote working and leisure travel in the new Work from Wherever Index. Malta took the impressive 6th place in the global competition and reached 4th spot in the European ranking.
“Over the years, we have seen a trend developing here in Malta whereby foreigners choose Malta as their destination for remote working. The nomad phenomenon has taken off in the past years, and as of recently, here at MTA, we have embarked on a collaboration campaign with Residency Malta to promote the Nomad Residency Permit. This has generated great interest from the Eastern Countries and the US and the UK. We have found that the unique selling points which Malta offers to the everyday tourist correspond perfectly to the needs of nomads such as, the weather, the close proximity to commercial establishments, the beautiful sea, the good food, the technological infrastructure, air connectivity, and the lack of language barriers, to mention but a few,” stated Carlo Micallef, Deputy CEO and Chief Marketing Officer at Malta Tourism Association.
Workations – working remotely while on vacation-, have become a major global trend. Until 2019, it was primarily freelancers, IT specialists and budding entrepreneurs who made up the majority of “digital nomads” who combine work and travel. However, the Covid pandemic has shown that untraditional office spaces can be a good alternative for many others too.
Malta has overtaken Costa Rica, Panama, Czech Republic, Germany, and many other countries in the worldwide competition. Furthermore, Malta performed very well in the ‘Remote work infrastructure’ category. It has one of the highest numbers of co-working spaces per capita, a high level of English proficiency among the local population, and also offers digital nomad visas for those looking to stay longer. In addition, the survey found it’s affordable to explore the country by car, with car hire prices being among the lowest in the world.
To develop the index, KAYAK analysed data for 111 countries and ranked each against 22 factors across six categories: travel costs and flight accessibility, local prices, health and safety, remote working capabilities, social life and weather.
The top 10 best countries for combining productive working conditions and opportunities for travel adventures according to KAYAK are:
1. Portugal
2. Spain
3. Romania
4. Mauritius
5. Japan
6. Malta
7. Costa Rica
8. Panama
9. Czech Republic
10. Germany
Portugal was ranked the overall best country to work remotely from worldwide, scoring high across the board in all categories, including great weather, a high abundance of places for going out, low-crime rates, and relatively low cost of living. Portugal also offers a digital nomad visa, and many locals have a high English proficiency that attracts expats. Spain ranked second place, mainly due to its high quantity of restaurants and cafes per capita, paired with fast internet speed, plenty of co-working spaces and remote visas for freelancers. It also has a lively nightlife and is very LGBTQ+ friendly. According to the survey findings, Romania rounds up the top third-place, primarily because it offers very attractive prices when it comes to long-term apartment rentals and local food.
