Airbnb enters deal with Cape Town to attract more remote workers
Businesstech – 15 August 2022
Accommodation-sharing service Airbnb has announced a new partnership deal with 20 destinations around the world to make it easier to live and work anywhere, including Cape Town, Bali, Lisbon, and the Caribbean.
The deal is an extension of Airbnb’s ‘live and work anywhere initiative’ to identify some of the most remote worker-friendly destinations in the world, and support governments in helping to revive tourism and provide economic support to communities after two-plus years of travel restrictions.
The 20 destinations Airbnb will spotlight include:
- Baja California Sur, Mexico
- Bali, Indonesia
- Brindisi, Puglia, Italy
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Caribbean
- Canary Islands, Spain
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Colombia
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Malta
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Palm Springs, California, USA
- Queensland, Australia
- Rural France
- Salzkammergut, Austria
- Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
- Thailand
- Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Cape Town
Airbnb said it will work closely with Cape Town Tourism on a range of initiatives, including building a dedicated custom-built hub for Cape Town that will showcase top local long-term stay listings as well as important information relating to entry requirements and visa policies to attract remote workers.
Airbnb will also partner with the city on educational campaigns to promote responsible hosting and travelling as a remote worker. The Cape Town hub is expected to launch later this year.
Cape Town and other tourism destinations in South Africa are also set to benefit from the introduction of a ‘Remote Working Visa’ for South Africa. The visa is aimed at attracting ‘digital nomads’ – people who will live in and work remotely from cities such as Cape Town.
Visas for digital nomads are travel permits that legalise the status of travelling professionals. Like tourist visas, they are easy to obtain and do not require long paperwork and a work contract. However, they allow for longer stays.
The city’s mayoral committee member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, James Vos, said with people working from home during the pandemic, the digital nomads concept has become a much-needed escape and great opportunity to take work on a holiday.
“We are seeing innovation within the tourism sector to accommodate the changed behaviour of remote working by offering affordable long-term stays, including other benefits required to work remotely and we will expand this message through the broad range of products and businesses who can use a leg up in this challenging time.
“An abundance of natural beauty and wide-open spaces makes Cape Town an ideal location to live and work with solid fibre infrastructure and top-class hospitality services and products.”