Tokyo tops the list for 2025's best 'workcation' destinations in the world
The results are part of IWG's third annual "Work from Anywhere Barometer," which ranks the top workcation cities globally — or where travelers can combine work and leisure.
Tokyo took the No. 1 spot because of its "exceptional" broadband speed, transport infrastructure, safety, culture and its newly launched digital nomad visa, according to the report.
In addition, the city "also benefits from proximity to mountains, coastal regions, and national parks – ideal for hybrid workers seeking an exciting urban atmosphere alongside natural escapes," according to IWG.
IWG ranked 40 countries on a scale of one to 10 based on the following 12 criteria:
The digital nomad visa — which gives workers the legal right to work remotely while residing away from their country of permanent residence — is a new criterion, along with proximity to beaches, mountains or national parks.
In this year's report, 86% of hybrid workers cited the availability of flexible workspaces as a major determinant in their choice of destination.
"Thanks to hybrid working and cloud technology, employees now have the freedom to work wherever and whenever suits them best", said Mark Dixon, founder and CEO of International Workplace Group.
These are the top 10 cities for workcations in 2025, according to IWG:
Tokyo, Seoul, Rome, Paris and Valletta are new entrants to the list. Seoul made the list because of its "ultra-fast internet, efficient public transport, and a thriving digital nomad community supported by South Korea's digital nomad visa," according to the report.
Budapest dropped from first to third place, but remains a favored choice for its food and happiness index.
The report also lists the top 10 Asian workcation cities, including Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, Mumbai and Hong Kong.
Singapore remains a favorite for hybrid workers because of its high scores in areas such as food, happiness, broadband speed and sustainability. The report cited its "island-wide 5G network coverage and seamless urban mobility" and its green spaces.
Barcelona, Beijing and Lisbon, although popular choices, fell in this year's list.
Mexico City, Cape Town, Prague, Melbourne, Orlando and Reykjavik were among the report's emerging workcation destinations. They scored high on criteria like digital nomad visas and proximity to nature.
"This trend is here to stay with many companies adopting flexible working and work from anywhere policies, particularly over the summer months for the long-term, which not only improves work-life balance and reduces burnout but also delivers significant productivity gains," Dixon said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
India and China agree to resume direct flights as Trump shakes up ties
NEW DELHI — India and China agreed on Tuesday to resume direct flights and step up trade and investment flows as the neighbors rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 border clash. The Asian giants are cautiously strengthening ties against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's unpredictable foreign policy, staging a series of high-level bilateral visits. The two countries will resume direct flights and increase trade and investment, including reopening border trade at three designated points, and facilitate in visas, the Indian foreign ministry said. Direct flights have been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. No date was given for their resumption. The latest statements came at the end of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to New Delhi for the 24th round of talks with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to resolve their decades-old border dispute. The border talks covered issues related to pulling back troops both countries have amassed on their Himalayan border, delimitation of borders and boundary affairs, the Indian ministry said. Both countries have agreed to set up a working group to consult and coordinate on border affairs to advance demarcation negotiations, a Chinese foreign ministry statement released on Wednesday showed. It said the mechanism will extend talks to cover the eastern and middle sections of the border. Meanwhile another round of talks on the western section will be held as soon as possible, the ministry said. Beijing also said both countries agreed to meet again in China in 2026. 'Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X after meeting Wang. Modi is scheduled to travel to China at the end of this month to take part in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization — his first visit to the country in more than seven years. A readout from the Chinese foreign ministry said Wang told Doval that 'the stable and healthy development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries' people.' The two sides 'should enhance mutual trust through dialogues and expand cooperation,' Wang said, and should aim for consensus in areas such as border control and demarcation negotiations. India said Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had underlined in his talks with Wang India's concerns with regard to the mega dam China is building on the Yarlung Zangbo river in Tibet. Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra as it flows into India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions. The dam would have implications for lower riparian states and the need for 'utmost transparency' was strongly underlined, New Delhi said. To that, China agreed to share with India emergency hydrological information on relevant rivers on humanitarian principles, China's foreign ministry said. Both sides agreed to engage an expert-level mechanism on cross-border rivers, and maintain communication to renew flood reporting arrangements, the ministry said. Chinese officials had previously said hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major impact on the environment or on downstream water supplies, but India and Bangladesh have nevertheless raised concerns.
The Hill
7 hours ago
- The Hill
Asian shares retreat, tracking tech losses on Wall Street
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares retreated on Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street led by technology shares including Nvidia and other stars that have been riding the mania surrounding artificial-intelligence. Benchmarks fell in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, pulled lower by selling of computer chip makers. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.7% to 42,787.28. Japan reported its exports fell slightly more than expected in July, pressured by higher tariffs on goods shipped to the U.S. Computer-chip equipment makers Advantest plunged 6.6% and Disco Corp. dropped 4.7%. Chip maker Tokyo Electron lost 1.9%. and Lasertec Corp. lost 1.8%. The Taiex in Taiwan fell 2.4% after chip maker TSMC dropped 3.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.6% to 24,980.20 while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,725.22 after China's central bank opted to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged, as markets had expected. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 8,917.60. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.4% to 3,096.09, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un condemned South Korean-U.S. military drills that began this week, and vowed a rapid expansion of his nuclear forces to counter rivals, according to North Korean state media. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 6,411.37, for a third straight loss. It remains near its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1% to 44,922.27, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 1.5% to 21,314.95. The heaviest weight on the market was Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the move into AI. It sank 3.5%. Another AI darling, Palantir Technologies, dropped 9.4% for the largest loss in the S&P 500. It's seen bets build up sharply that its stock price will drop, according to S3 Partners. Only Meta Platforms has seen a bigger increase this year in what's called 'short interest,' where traders essentially bet a stock's price will fall. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, sank 2.1%. Criticism has been rising that stock prices across Wall Street have shot too high, too fast since hitting a bottom in April and have become too expensive. Palantir's stock came into Tuesday with a tremendous gain of 130% for the year so far. The priciness of AI-related shares and potential for further trade restrictions in the strategically important chip industry prompted investors to sell. Home Depot's gain of 3.2% was the biggest reason the Dow did better than other indexes. The retailer reported results for the latest quarter that were a bit short of what analysts expected, but it delivered growth in revenue and stood by its prior forecasts for revenue and profit over the full year. The week's headliner for Wall Street is likely arriving on Friday. That's when the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, will give a highly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The setting has been home to big policy announcements from the Fed in the past, and the hope on Wall Street is that Powell may hint that cuts to interest rates are coming soon. The Fed has kept its main interest rate steady this year, primarily because of the fear of the possibility that President Donald Trump's tariffs could push inflation higher. But a surprisingly weak report on job growth across the country may be superseding that. Traders on Wall Street widely expect the Fed to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September in order to give the economy a boost. Treasury yields have come down notably in the bond market as a result, and they eased on Tuesday. Strategists at Bank of America warn that Powell may not sound as inclined to cut interest rates as the market is expecting. He could remain non-committal and discuss the possibility of a worst-case scenario for the economy called 'stagflation.' The Fed has no good tool to fix that situation, where the economy stagnates at the same time as inflation remains high. In other dealings early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude added 12 cents to $61.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 11 cents to $65.90 a barrel. The U.S. dollar edged down to 147.52 Japanese yen from 147.66 yen. The euro cost $1.1636, down from $1.1648.
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Asian shares retreat, tracking tech losses on Wall Street
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares retreated on Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street led by technology shares including Nvidia and other stars that have been riding the mania surrounding artificial-intelligence. Benchmarks fell in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, pulled lower by selling of computer chip makers. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.7% to 42,787.28. Japan reported its exports fell slightly more than expected in July, pressured by higher tariffs on goods shipped to the U.S. Computer-chip equipment makers Advantest plunged 6.6% and Disco Corp. dropped 4.7%. Chip maker Tokyo Electron lost 1.9%. and Lasertec Corp. lost 1.8%. The Taiex in Taiwan fell 2.4% after chip maker TSMC dropped 3.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.6% to 24,980.20 while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,725.22 after China's central bank opted to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged, as markets had expected. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 8,917.60. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.4% to 3,096.09, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un condemned South Korean-U.S. military drills that began this week, and vowed a rapid expansion of his nuclear forces to counter rivals, according to North Korean state media. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 6,411.37, for a third straight loss. It remains near its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1% to 44,922.27, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 1.5% to 21,314.95. The heaviest weight on the market was Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the move into AI. It sank 3.5%. Another AI darling, Palantir Technologies, dropped 9.4% for the largest loss in the S&P 500. It's seen bets build up sharply that its stock price will drop, according to S3 Partners. Only Meta Platforms has seen a bigger increase this year in what's called 'short interest,' where traders essentially bet a stock's price will fall. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, sank 2.1%. Criticism has been rising that stock prices across Wall Street have shot too high, too fast since hitting a bottom in April and have become too expensive. Palantir's stock came into Tuesday with a tremendous gain of 130% for the year so far. The priciness of AI-related shares and potential for further trade restrictions in the strategically important chip industry prompted investors to sell. Home Depot's gain of 3.2% was the biggest reason the Dow did better than other indexes. The retailer reported results for the latest quarter that were a bit short of what analysts expected, but it delivered growth in revenue and stood by its prior forecasts for revenue and profit over the full year. The week's headliner for Wall Street is likely arriving on Friday. That's when the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, will give a highly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The setting has been home to big policy announcements from the Fed in the past, and the hope on Wall Street is that Powell may hint that cuts to interest rates are coming soon. The Fed has kept its main interest rate steady this year, primarily because of the fear of the possibility that President Donald Trump's tariffs could push inflation higher. But a surprisingly weak report on job growth across the country may be superseding that. Traders on Wall Street widely expect the Fed to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September in order to give the economy a boost. Treasury yields have come down notably in the bond market as a result, and they eased on Tuesday. Strategists at Bank of America warn that Powell may not sound as inclined to cut interest rates as the market is expecting. He could remain non-committal and discuss the possibility of a worst-case scenario for the economy called 'stagflation.' The Fed has no good tool to fix that situation, where the economy stagnates at the same time as inflation remains high. In other dealings early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude added 12 cents to $61.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 11 cents to $65.90 a barrel.
