Being a digital nomad became a lot more popular during the pandemic and with work arrangements becoming more flexible, people are choosing more and more to work from remote, beautiful areas rather than crowded cities.
A while ago, Gonçalo Hall founded the first digital nomad village in Europe, in the Madeira region of Portugal. The project was so successful, he decided to expand it and he is now taking the concept to Brazil. The first digital nomad village in South America will open on 1 November in the city of Pipa, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Madeira suffered from the loss of tourism during the pandemic, which is why the regional government approved Hall’s NomadX project in Ponta do Sol. The village opened in February 2021 and has since brought $30 million to the local economy from the 6,000 people who signed up for the program.
Under similar circumstances, the Brazilian government and local tourism board in Pipa have decided to approve and support a similar project. The village of Pipa was chosen for multiple reasons. It is only 90 minutes away from the Natal International Airport, it has a good infrastructure, good daily bus connections to the airport and, of course, an amazing culture that can be discovered by the incoming nomads.
Pipa is one of the hidden gems of Brazil, a surf village with a special vibe.
NomadX on Instagram
Hall estimates that the Pipa village will generate even more income for the local economy, at least $36 million. “The pandemic opened up the government to new solutions. If tourism had been at full power, I don’t think the government would have had the bandwidth to even think about digital nomads”, he told Skift.
“Nomads appear at the top of the funnel, but the end goal is to create an ecosystem. Yes, the shiny object is digital nomads, that’s how to attract people …. (but) there’s always a long-term vision to what we build”, he added, explaining that the villages are based on collaborations with local communities.
What his team does is prepare the locals for the influx of tourist and ensure the locations are ready, infrastructure and accommodation are in good condition and, maybe most importantly for digital nomads, there is a good internet connection. But they always work with the local hospitality and tourism companies, employ community managers and ensure the overall digital nomads community is connected with the local businesses.
