So, this January, I finally made it to Chiang Mai, Thailand, for the first time to attend my very first Nomad Summit. This event and city had both been on my radar for a couple of years, and I’m glad I finally followed the hype. Nomad Summit is definitely another brilliant community-driven event for digital nomads and remote entrepreneurs. Much like other similar events I’ve attended, it had expert talks on stage, workshops and networking galore.
There were a couple of things that made Nomad Summit stand out for me. Firstly, I really liked the format of focusing the main summit to two days in a stunning hotel, and the weekend at that. This meant that I didn’t have to take time off work as I would for other conferences that take up whole weekdays. I attended every talk and took plenty of notes, as well as made it to the cool networking parties — one was a pool party, and the other had traditional Thai performances.
Then, directly afterwards was a whole week of side events, named Nomad Week, where attendees would volunteer to host their own workshops, talks and meetups around various topics, from content creation to AI, and from investments to discovering new travel destinations. These side events were held across 8 days in various venues around Chiang Mai, giving us ample opportunities to discover various coworking spaces, bars, restaurants and cafes across the city. It was very easy to fit these in around carrying on with work and usual day-to-day activities.
Another distinctive feature was how Nomad Summit is heavily focused on involving the local communities. Though foreign-owned, I respected how most of the staff and volunteers were Thai, and there was a significant attendance by local students on subsidised tickets. This was extra noticeable during the Buildathon pitches, giving them valuable opportunities to collaborate with international attendees. Even down to the fact that Nomad Summit were selling branded T-shirts made in Thailand, and I bought two for myself – they’re so comfy with brilliant slogans!
Not to mention other really cool things, like our puzzle-shaped lanyards with QR codes pointing to our social media links and websites, making sharing these things super convenient while networking. Plus, the little “passports” we got to collect stamps and stickers from various sponsors and partners from the conference.
I loved the lunches that were included on the Summit days, with delicious Thai food and tables assigned via AI to match us with like-minded people. Oh, and I’m enjoying the community of people here – I’m still meeting up with many of them almost every day here in Chiang Mai (I’m doing slow travel, so I’m staying for a bit afterwards).
I really loved Nomad Summit. I would totally come back, and I’d totally recommend it — the team did a stellar job! 😃👏🏾
