Two Italian destinations in the world’s top 30 of the most sought-after places by high-end digital nomads, this is the response of the Executive Nomad Index 2025 by Savills (the real estate services company that every year analyzes thirty global destinations for connection speed, air accessibility, climate stability, rental prices in the prime segment and overall quality of life). In this special ranking we find Palermo in 25th place and the Tuscany region in 29th. Dubai and Abu Dhabi remain at the top of the ranking, followed by Malaga, Miami and Lisbon. Italy is the only country with two preferences.
Palermo: infrastructure and incentives
The Sicilian capital does not enter the ranking due to inertia. In recent years the Municipality has directed over ten million euros of PNRR funds towards digitalisation, and free public coworking spaces are in the pipeline, some created from abandoned churches in the historic centre. The Region has added concrete tax incentives, such as the 50% reimbursement of Irpef for those who transfer their tax domicile from abroad, which rises to 60% for those who settle in the internal areas of the island. Added to this are the factors that the Savills report measures directly: mild climate, rents still competitive compared to other European destinations in the ranking, improving air connectivity. Those who come to Palermo to work remotely come from all over Europe, but also from the United States, Canada, India, Afghanistan, Mali and Israel. The average length of stay varies between a month and a year, but the tendency to take root, as also emerges from local analyzes of the South Working phenomenon, is increasing.
Tuscany: quality of life and stable market
The Tuscany region plays on different coordinates. Savills rewards it for the combination of quality of life and stability of the residential market: rents in the prime segment show competitive levels compared to other European destinations, while the mix of landscape, culture and international attractiveness consolidates the region as a destination for those who do not need metropolitan excitement. It is the destination for those who have found a way to transform their holiday villa into a permanent residence, a profile which has a precise specific weight in the Savills index, distinct from those looking for a coastal city with coworking and a beach.
There is therefore no overlap between the two Italian destinations in the ranking, because they cater to different nomad profiles, with different priorities, and for this very reason they reinforce each other in the overall image of the country.
The profile of the high-end digital nomad
The Savills report precisely distinguishes the profile of the nomad executive from the simple remote worker. The digital nomad usually travels with his family, prioritizes schools and healthcare, rents rather than buys and seeks space and proximity to services. The destinations at the top of the index, Dubai in the lead, are rewarded above all for fiscal efficiency, connectivity and quality of education and healthcare infrastructure.
The ranking
Below is the complete ranking:
- Dubai
- Abu Dhabi
- Rum raisin
- Miami
- Lisbon
- Palm
- Barcelona
- Barbados
- Auckland
- Algarve
- Tokyo
- Grenada
- San Jose
- Saint Lucia
- Crete
- Bali
- French Riviera
- Vancouver
- Dubrovnik
- Cayman Islands
- Malta
- Cape Town
- Antigua
- Mauritius
- Palermo
- Cyprus
- Athens
- Berlin
- Tuscany
- Bahamas
