According to an ET report, the Goa government is upgrading its electronics and accommodation facilities to attract IT investment and digital nomads. In the coming quarter, so-called sea hubs or co-working spaces will be set up along the coastline.
Goa’s Minister of Tourism and IT, Rohan Khaunte, claims that these hubs will allow people to combine work and leisure by pursuing activities such as surfing and enjoying regional dishes in beach huts.
Providing high-speed Internet access in rural areas is a critical component of this effort, as it would facilitate the work of digital nomads.
The project’s target audience consists of digital nomads who use information and communication technologies to work from any location. The state government is aiming for 100% Internet connectivity.
Furthermore, Goa has been actively promoting the “digital nomad” visa. The state government intends to make a case for this visa with the Home Ministry and External Affairs Ministry.
A tide of foreign digital nomads, Indian IT workers, and other professionals have arrived in the state as a result of the global remote working trend. Many of the masses from the pandemic era have fled, but many outsiders have remained. For better or worse, the locals claim that they are transforming Goa.
Vaibhav Chhabra, founder of Maker’s Asylum, told Rest of World that in just three years, a large number of hotels, restaurants, and Airbnbs have sprung up in Moira. Rents have increased— – Chabra now spends twice as much as he did when he arrived in Goa— – and property construction has surged. The influx has proven beneficial to numerous businesses. However, the local population faces exorbitant costs caused by income outside the region that far exceeds their own.
Most of the recent development in Goa has been driven by jobs in the technology sector. Software and IT services companies have seen the largest increase in employees compared to other industries in the state since 2021, according to statistics released by hiring agency Xpheno. Among the industries with the fastest growth were internet startups, which have added 31% more jobs in the past two years. Goa currently has more than 400 government-recognized companies. Earlier this year, state officials announced plans to build an information technology park that could house up to 200 companies in the future.
“You walk into any cafe, you will see it filled with people working on their laptops,” Tejas Polli, who grew up in Goa and now works at a tech accelerator, told Rest of World. “The whole atmosphere around Goa is changing.”