A desk with a sea view: the new era of workation

From check-in to login, travel is changing its face.

Until a few years ago, traveling almost always meant completely disconnecting from work. Today, the way we travel is changing: more and more people choose to move without interrupting their professional activities, transforming a vacation destination into a temporary place to live, work, and explore the area. It is the workation, a word born from the union of work and vacation, one of the trends reshaping contemporary tourism. Not just a simple vacation with the computer open, but a new way of organizing time: a few hours dedicated to work, the rest of the day to be spent between sea, culture, nature, and local experiences.

According to data from the Smart Working Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, by 2025 agile workers in Italy will reach about 3.575 million, confirming a model that has now become firmly established in the professional habits of many companies and workers.

The consequence is also tourist-related: if work can be done from places other than the traditional office, travel can also change shape. A second home, an apartment in a village, a hospitality facility with dedicated spaces, or a coworking space can become new temporary "workstations." The result is the emergence of a different traveler, less tied to the classic week of vacation, more interested in long stays, quality of life, and the possibility of truly immersing themselves in the destination.

For the summer of 2026, workation presents itself as one of the most interesting formulas for international tourism. The most attractive destinations are not necessarily the most famous, but those capable of offering a balance between beauty and functionality.

Those who choose to work while traveling seek reliable connectivity, tranquility, efficient services, but also what a traditional vacation continues to offer: landscapes, culture, gastronomy, and leisure time.

The new tourist demand therefore rewards places capable of temporarily becoming "home": art cities experienced without haste, villages immersed in nature, coastal locations far from the rhythms of mass tourism.

In Europe, the phenomenon has grown rapidly, especially in those areas that have managed to build a proposal dedicated to remote workers.

Portugal has been one of the first countries to intercept this trend, thanks to its favorable climate, competitive cost of living, and the emergence of international communities of digital nomads. The island of Madeira has become one of the most well-known cases, with initiatives aimed specifically at those who wish to live and work temporarily in a different context.

Spain has also focused on attracting remote workers, while Greece and other Mediterranean countries have enhanced the combination of quality of life, cultural heritage, and natural environment.

Italy has all the ingredients to compete in this scenario: widespread beauty, small towns rich in history, cuisine, landscapes, and a lifestyle recognized worldwide. The challenge will be to transform these strengths into structured services.

The new traveler is not just looking for a destination to photograph, but a place to feel part of an experience, to know a local community, to discover flavors and traditions, to build a more authentic relationship with the territory.

For the tourism of the future, it will no longer be enough to offer extraordinary landscapes or monuments to visit. The winning destinations will be those capable of offering a complete experience: beauty, services, hospitality, and the possibility of living the territory at a slower pace.

Credit photo: Christin Humer for Unsplash