The reasons why digital nomads around the world continue to choose Chiang Mai go far beyond its reputation as a friendly and safe place to live. The city’s growing appeal is also reflected in its selection as the host of major international conferences year after year.
In 2024, Chiang Mai hosted the Pop-up Village – Edge City Lanna. In 2025, the city welcomed large-scale tech events such as the SEO Conference and the Cross Border Summit. Looking ahead, from 16–18 January 2026, Chiang Mai is set to host the Chiang Mai Nomad Summit, bringing together talented professionals from around the world.
Notably, the annual SEO Conference alone attracts more than 800 digital nomads, many of whom now consider Chiang Mai their main base. This clearly demonstrates how business and lifestyle are seamlessly intertwined in the city.
Recognising this potential, Chiang Mai province has joined forces with government agencies, private sector partners and civil society to establish a “task force for the development of a creative district friendly to remote workers”. The pilot project is centred in the historic San Pa Koi–Wat Gate area, with a focus on developing work-friendly infrastructure, promoting learning opportunities, and encouraging cultural exchange between the global nomad community and local residents.
The initiative aims to create a living-and-working sandbox that balances productivity and quality of life. In addition, a month-long creative conference programme is planned for September, designed to attract digital nomads from around the world to live, collaborate and share expertise with the people of Chiang Mai.
Through collaboration across all sectors, Chiang Mai is positioning itself as more than just a tourism destination. The city is emerging as a global workation destination, ready to support the next generation of business travellers and to drive urban growth in a way that is capturing global attention.