First ‘digital village’ springs up on the island of Madeira

The initiative is aimed at capturing a new type of tourist – the digital nomad

Last week, some exciting news came from the sunny island of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean. Local entrepreneurs and authorities have clearly been at work on coming up with creative solutions on how to overcome the local economic slump and turn an eye towards what the future of tourism may look like.

The solution was declaring Ponta do Sol, located on the southern shore of the island, as the first ‘digital village’ in Europe. That means that many of the local services there have been geared towards integration to promote a unified product aimed at the digital nomads of the world, providing them with a home, shared working space and cultural offerings all in one package.

There is an ever-growing trend of tech-savvy people to work remotely while travelling

The initiative became a reality after local start-up ‘Digital Nomads Madeira’ and the Tourism and Culture Secretariat of Madeira signed a cooperation protocol, which will see administrative support for this innovative idea. Naturally, the Government is interested in seeing Madeira promoted through yet another channel on the global tourism market, especially following the fall of visits in the wake of the pandemic.

What would be additionally beneficial, however, is that new project will also promote the island not only as a safe destination but as a destination which is digitally advanced and disposes of good Internet connectivity, which is essential for the digital nomads.

“The 'Digital Nomads Madeira' project, which will embody the first 'digital village' in Europe, is yet another showcase for the tourist offer and our economy abroad and allows the attraction of digital nomads from all over the world who will make the home for months, positively impacting the local economy. In addition, they will contribute to lessening the reduction in tourists and the seasonality of the tourist market, contributing strongly to make them excellent promoters of the destination,” explained Eduardo Jesus, the regional Secretary of Tourism.

For now, the initiative will run as a pilot project until 30 June 2021, and booking can already be made on the Digital Nomads Madeira website. The idea is to provide the guests with a shared working space, located in the John dos Passos Cultural Centre in Ponta do Sol, which will be equipped with free Internet and access to Slack Community.

The platform will also give the chance to nomads to book accommodation easily and enjoy the various cultural events that will be organized. The condition is that visitors should stay at least for a month.