Working holiday: Employees who work outside the office while on vacation to support their work-life balance are expected to increase company productivity. — 123rf.com
INDONESIA’s Tourism and Crea-tive Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno recently floated the idea of promoting Indonesian tourism by granting “digital nomad” visas that allow foreign visitors to work during their stay, provided they don’t enter the local labour market.
Like tourist visas, they are easy to obtain but they allow the visa holder to stay in the country longer.
The innovative visa would be granted to people who are not employed in the country they are visiting. For example, digital nomad visas could be given to Australian tourists who work remotely from Bali but still pay their income tax in Australia.
The advantage of providing digital nomad visas is that these working Australian tourists will spend most of their income in Indonesia, not in their home country.
It benefits the tourists as well as the host country. The experience of several nations that have applied it, such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Costa Rica, shows that digital nomad visas provide a couple of advantages.
To the host country’s economy, the idea of granting digital nomad visas cannot be separated from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced the closure of international borders.
Some of the main reasons for a digital nomad visa include increasing demand for work from home arrangements, even when work from office has resumed. Emplo-yees who work outside the office while on vacation to support their work-life balance are expected to increase company productivity.
The second factor is the pricing trend in the travel industry, with hotels offering daily, weekly and monthly packages, especially in essential destinations such as Bali or Lombok. These packages, often called “work from hotel”, provide convenience to remote workers.
The third factor is the increased types of work that can be done online. Multiple remote jobs, such as marketing consultant, software engineer, programmer, graphic designer and data analyst, are increasingly demanded and needed. On the other hand, companies can also save operational costs by allowing their employees to work remotely.
Looking at the primary factors why digital nomad visas are becoming a trend today, there are some opportunities for Indonesia.
Geographically, Indonesia is located close to digital start-up centres such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. These three countries are known to be full of wealthy corporations and employees. The three neighbouring countries also have a productive and stable business ecosystem, so the pandemic has not had too much effect on their economies.
At the same time, Indonesia has a relatively low cost of living. For example, in terms of accommodation, Australia and New Zealand have an average weekly rate of around US$300-US$400 (RM1,328-RM1,771) for a one-bedroom apartment and in Singapore, the rate is around US$250-US$350 (RM1,107-RM1,549).
In Indonesia, the rate is much lower and comes with better amenities and facilities. This does not include the lower costs of food, schools and transportation in many cities in Indonesia.
Popular destinations such as Bali and Yogyakarta still have a lower cost of living than the three neighbouring countries.
Looking at these opportunities, it is evident that granting digital nomad visas is a lucrative opportunity. Nevertheless, there are several factors to consider first before granting the facility.
The first is to determine which countries are eligible for this visa facility. Indonesia has to learn from its previous regulations before the pandemic, when more than 100 countries were given access to visa facilities, so the many tourists that came were unqualified (in terms of their spending and contribution).
Selecting the countries can be based on the interest of their citizens in working as digital nomads.
The following strategy is to prepare specific ecosystems and infrastructure to support digital nomads, including comfortable working spaces with a super-fast 5G Internet network.
Only a few areas in Indonesia have 5G network coverage, or even 4G coverage. Internet infrastructure is crucial in making a destination attractive from the point of view of digital nomads.
The authorities need to think about investing in free WiFi facilities for various public spaces that are relevant to tourism. In addition, the government should issue supporting regulations on matters such as a tax mechanism and an obligation to partner with small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
An obligation for digital nomads to partner with SMEs will stimulate the spirit of entrepreneurship and collaboration in regional creative economies. Therefore, some conditions can be made, including an obligation for digital nomads to have SME products in their trading activities abroad.
Other things include a commitment to assisting SMEs in conducting active marketing campaigns through various digital channels.
Tourism stakeholders in destinations that are prepared to welcome the arrival of digital nomad tourists need to collaborate in providing comfort and readiness for these visa holders.
Precise regional mapping is also required so that the appearance of digital nomad tourists serves not only to increase the number of international tourists but also to have a positive impact on the economy of the area they visit. – The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
Made Handijaya Dewantara is a tourism lecturer at Prasetiya Mulya University, Jakarta.
