It looks like Tulum's nomad scene is a sign of things to come. At the start of August, Estonia became the first nation to launch a specific visa for digital nomads, while the Caribbean islands of Barbados and Bermuda are both offering year-long stays for remote workers in order to boost economies hammered by Covid-19. It’s not just remote workers who have cottoned on to digital nomadism.

There’s no doubt digital nomadism is exploding in popularity.”

“In fact, if I didn’t have children who wanted to stay local I’d be tempted to do the same. “With many schools cancelled as well as childcare centres, I can see even families being tempted to go nomadic,” Bloom says. “Add this to the fact that the pandemic is not going to end until we have a widespread vaccine, and you have the perfect recipe for nomadism.”Īnd it might not just be young millennials who take advantage of an office-free future. “Many will take the opportunity to become digital nomads,” Bloom says. In other words, millions and millions of people can now meet deadlines from anywhere on the planet. Nicholas Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University, cites figures which show that US firms have increased their share of full-time remote workers to 40 per cent – a twenty-fold increase on pre-pandemic figures. Males argues that “slow tourists” tend to be more aware of their environmental impact, travel more slowly and spend more in the local economy.Īnd the digital nomad boom seen in Tulum is likely to occur on a mass scale. However, much of the ire has been directed towards the impact of holidaymakers and the jet-set lifestyle, rather than digital nomads. Some Mexican politicians and environmental activists have complained about Tulum’s rapid development and rung its death knell. “The whole world looking like a Shoreditch or Brooklyn neighbourhood is a genuine concern.” “We’re very conscious of how we work with local communities,” says Males, who is originally from Derbyshire in England. As more and more remote workers arrive, there is a danger that the local culture will be eroded, and Tulum will become a homogenised coworking district. Outsite’s 16 rooms will be booked months in advance of the January to March high season a local WhatsApp group connects guests with one another. With an estimated local population of under 25,000, that’s a sizeable chunk. That’s why Males estimates that Tulum’s nomad community is in the hundreds – and growing. It forms the perfect mix for working retreats like Loop, WiFiTribe and Hacker Paradise, where you can check your inbox in far-flung destinations like Vietnam, Oman and Kenya. Key ingredients in creating the ideal digital nomad community include a blissful setting, cheap costs, lax visa rules, beneficial time zones (which is why you tend to find more British nomads in Portugal) and, most crucially of all, solid Wi-Fi. It’s why I was massively drawn to Tulum.” I use a lot of tools for that, including card readings, plant medicine and cacao ceremonies. But I’m a death doula: a spiritual advocate for the dying. In November I had one thing I was cutting in Tulum. “Technically, I’m kind of still a video editor. “If you stay somewhere for weeks, you’re going to get out of the main strip and into the community – that’s where you’re putting money into local pockets.” She clarifies her current role. Rebecca Cannon, the video editor turned tarot card reader, argues digital nomads are a positive for areas like Tulum. I think they were happy having restaurants back open and serving people again.” She says that although masks aren’t required, she always wore hers in public spaces. Given that Covid-19 is rife throughout the US, there is a danger that digital nomads will import the disease. “I met plenty who worked in digital marketing and social media, and many who were trying out remote working for the first time – their companies didn’t know they were out there.”ĭespite the US Department of State advising against travelling, and the land border being shut, Mexico is one the few territories still open to American passport holders – so long as you arrive by air. “I think more travelled to Tulum because of coronavirus,” says Jean, who arrived in July. Stop by the trendy beachside cafes or the taquerias on the main drag and – Wi-Fi permitting – you’re bound to see westerners hunched over laptops, pandemic be damned.

Nomad tulum