Projects Meet in Geiranger to Attract Digital Nomads
From October 21 to 23, nearly 30 participants from several European countries (Bulgaria, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Finland and Lithuania) gathered in the UNESCO World Heritage village of Geiranger (Norway) to collaborate on attracting digital nomads to rural regions in Europe. During the 3-days visit to Geiranger, the regional stakeholders and international partners took part in various meetings and workshops where they shared experiences and explored new solutions for making small places and rural regions more attractive places for live and working, that offer different experiences. The workshop activities were built on stories and inputs from several regional stakeholders, among them Sindre Mjelva from Hotel Union Geiranger , Line Horvli from Nordveggen AS, Katrin Blomvik Bakken from STIFTINGA GEIRANGERFJORDEN VERDSARV, and Lise G. Haukeberg from SYKKYLVEN KOMMUNE.
Here are some outcomes of the partners’ workshops and discussions and next steps to take:
- Drawing up a road map or method of creating marketing plans for digital nomads is the next step for the partner organizations: The needs of the participating regions with the right “subtype” of the nomad must be considered. To manage this, the different types of digital nomads need to be mapped, what type of value they create and how to attract them.
- Key principles to pay special attention to: Social responsibility and public engagement of digital nomads is an important part of the attraction process: voluntary engagement, participation in communities, sharing skills, cultivating nature and culture, etc.
- Create a list of social networks for digital nomads: Provide access to available social networks and online groups for digital nomads to familiarize partners with how they communicate and find their destinations.
- Collaborating with tourism businesses: creating a relationship with local travel agents to build on destinations that attract tourists and regions that are doing well economically
