Money planet: the new cut-price billionaire-backpacker routes to NZ

While the NZ tourism sector would welcome any boost to visitor numbers, the prospect of a digital nomad invasion seems remote, David Chaplin writes. (Image: Getty)

David Chaplin

Wed, 12 Feb 2025

“In the spirit of universalism,” writes James Greig in a hit job for online travel zine Thrillist, “you might defend the right of digital nomads to live wherever they want, but this right is not under threat: they are pandered to at every turn; economically disadvantaged countries are competing to entice them … ”And last month, New Zealand joined the list of those down-at-heel desperado economies with a grovelling and lame appeal to the estimated 35 million individuals who identify as digital nomads.Immigration Mi...

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