Something for the weekend: Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, has been named the world’s best workcation city for 2024 in research by International Workplace Group.
Following the increase in popularity of workcations, where people combine work with travel for a few days at the end of a holiday, or a few months as a digital nomad, the flexible and hybrid workspace operator has marked 30 cities against 10 key criteria to create its second annual Work from anywhere barometer.
Each location received a mark out of 10 on climate, culture, accommodation, transport, food and drink, happiness, broadband speed, sustainability, and flexible workspace availability.
Budapest was found to be the Buda-best, scoring 75 out of 100 for transport and accommodation prices, broadband speeds, and availability of flexible workspaces. The Hungarian capital attracts some 12 million international tourists per year due to its 200 museums and galleries, and green spaces, allowing employees to balance work and leisure.
The Spanish city of Barcelona dropped from first place in 2023 to second place this year, scoring 73.5 out of 100. It offers hybrid workers a lively atmosphere and nearly year-round sunshine. Spain’s wide-ranging digital nomad visa, along with Barcelona’s good transportation infrastructure and relatively affordable cost of living, ensures it remains a good workcation destination.
In joint second place, rising from sixth place last year, is Rio de Janeiro with a score of 73.5 out of 100. It ranked highly on accommodation, food, transport costs, and strong, affordable broadband speed. Hybrid workers will benefit from a digital nomad community thanks to local government investments for remote workers, such as citywide 5G coverage and a digital nomad visa.
The research also revealed that 74% view a work-from-anywhere policy as a significant factor when considering a new job, and 84% of hybrid workers now consider extending holidays to work remotely.
Mark Dixon, founder and chief executive officer of International Workplace Group, said: “For an increasing number of workers, the days of long daily commutes are over, now that hybrid working offers the opportunity to work wherever we will be the most productive. Thanks to cloud technology, that can be anywhere in the world, provided there’s a high-quality internet connection. This trend is set to accelerate further, and we will continue to see more organisations embracing working from anywhere policies to improve employees’ work-life balance and increase their attractiveness as an employer.”
These workcation destinations all sound great to us at Employee Benefits. We’re packing our bags and laptops now!
