Strict 12-criteria selection process
IWG assessed major cities across 40 countries, scoring them 1-10 across 12 categories: climate, accommodation, food, transport, daily costs, internet speed, happiness index, access to flexible workspaces, cultural quality, digital nomad visa availability and costs, proximity to natural attractions, and sustainability.
Two new criteria were added this year – digital nomad visas and access to nature. The survey revealed that 86% of hybrid workers consider access to flexible workspaces a decisive factor in choosing their workation destination.
Mark Dixon, IWG’s founder and CEO, noted: “With hybrid working and cloud technology, employees now have the freedom to choose to work from anywhere, at any time.”
Global top 10 Workation cities in 2025:
Tokyo, Japan
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Budapest, Hungary
Seoul, South Korea
Barcelona, Spain
Beijing, China
Lisbon, Portugal
Rome, Italy
Paris, France
Valletta, Malta
Among the newcomers to the list were Tokyo, Seoul, Rome, Paris, and Valletta. Seoul stood out for its fast internet, efficient public transport, and growing digital nomad community, bolstered by South Korea’s new visa scheme.
Budapest, last year’s No.1, fell to third but remains popular thanks to its food culture and high happiness index.
AloJapan.com