Bangkok has emerged as the world’s leading workcation destination in International Workplace Group PLC’s (LSE: IWG) 2026 Work From Anywhere Index, highlighting how cities are increasingly competing on their ability to support both remote work and leisure travel.
The Thai capital scored 106.5 points, 10 points ahead of second-ranked Tokyo at 96.5 and Barcelona at 95.5. Porto and Vancouver completed the top five, while Budapest, Naples, Medellín, Lisbon and Seoul rounded out the top 10.
Now in its fourth edition, the IWG index ranks 50 cities on factors including climate, broadband connectivity, accommodation, transportation, food, culture and access to flexible workspaces. The ranking reflects a broader shift in the way hybrid workers approach travel, with destinations increasingly judged on whether they can provide the infrastructure needed to work effectively alongside the lifestyle appeal of a vacation.
Mumbai was the only Indian city included in this year’s index, scoring 77 points. The city performed relatively well on transportation costs, flexible workspace availability, climate and accommodation, while scoring lower on broadband quality, local events and the happiness index. Mumbai’s inclusion places India within a growing global workcation market where professional infrastructure is becoming as important as tourism appeal.
Bangkok Takes the Lead
Bangkok’s first-place position marks a change from previous editions of the index. Barcelona topped the inaugural edition, followed by Budapest and Tokyo in subsequent years.
The 2026 results put Bangkok substantially ahead of the rest of the field. Its combination of affordability, transport connectivity, accommodation options and established tourism infrastructure helped it emerge as the strongest overall destination for professionals combining work and travel.
Tokyo retained its position among the leading workcation cities, while Barcelona remained in the top three. The presence of Porto, Vancouver and Budapest in the top six shows that the appeal of workcations extends across different types of cities, from major economic centers to destinations traditionally associated with leisure and short breaks.
Beyond the top 10, Singapore ranked 17th globally, while Montpellier placed 16th and was the highest-ranked French destination. Berlin ranked 30th, Paris 33rd and Cairo 39th.
The spread of locations suggests that there is no single model for a successful workcation city. Affordability and connectivity matter, but so do cultural experiences, food, accommodation and the availability of professional workspace.
Work Becomes Part of the Trip
The ranking comes alongside IWG research showing that work-from-anywhere policies are becoming more established among hybrid workers.
A Censuswide survey of 2,000 hybrid office workers in the UK and US, conducted from July 6 to July 9, found that 51% said their employer already offered a work-from-anywhere policy. The survey should be viewed as an indicator of workplace trends in those markets rather than a direct measure of employee behavior globally.
The perceived benefits of flexibility are substantial. Ninety percent of respondents said working from anywhere had improved their work-life balance, while 80% said it had improved their productivity.
Work-from-anywhere policies are also becoming relevant to recruitment and retention. Eighty percent of respondents said such policies would make a new job more attractive, while 62% said they would consider changing employers for a better work-from-anywhere offering.
The findings suggest that flexibility is increasingly being evaluated as part of the overall employee proposition rather than simply as a workplace perk.
Holidays Become More Flexible
Remote work is also changing how employees use vacation time.
Almost half, or 48%, of those surveyed said they planned to extend a holiday or mini-break by working remotely in 2026. Another 46% said they were more likely to do so than they were a year earlier. Forty-three percent said they had already worked remotely from a holiday destination without using annual leave.
The motivations extend beyond maximizing vacation time. Fifty-four percent cited avoiding burnout and supporting wellbeing as a reason to extend trips through remote work. Spending more time with family and friends was cited by 53%, while 52% wanted to make annual leave go further.
Cost pressures are another factor. Fifty-one percent said the cost of living had made them more likely to use hybrid or work-from-anywhere policies to stretch holidays.
The trend effectively blurs the boundary between business and leisure travel. A worker no longer necessarily needs to choose between taking additional vacation days and staying longer in a destination.
Connectivity Remains the Foundation
Despite the lifestyle appeal of workcations, the research indicates that practical workplace requirements remain central to destination selection.
Reliable Wi-Fi was cited by 38% of respondents as a key factor when deciding where to work remotely while traveling. Access to flexible workspace was also cited by 38%.
Affordability could further influence the trend, with 46% saying cheaper travel and accommodation would encourage them to extend trips through remote working.
Employees also want clarity from employers. Forty-four percent said they would be more comfortable working remotely while traveling if they knew doing so would not negatively affect perceptions of their performance. Another 39% said clearer employer guidance and expectations would encourage them to take advantage of work-from-anywhere arrangements.
Mumbai’s Place in the Emerging Market
Mumbai’s inclusion provides a notable Indian dimension to the global ranking. The city’s strongest scores in transportation costs, flexible workspace availability, climate and accommodation point to several of the factors increasingly shaping workcation demand. Its weaker broadband and quality-of-life scores also highlight the infrastructure gaps that could influence its competitiveness.
India’s broader flexible-office market provides some support for the trend. Data cited by IWG from Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Trends in Flexible Office 2025 report put India’s flexible workspace maturity score at 100, ahead of the UK, France and US. The country had 79.7 million square feet of flexible workspace across its top eight cities as of the second quarter of 2025, with the market expected to cross 100 million square feet in 2026.
That infrastructure could help more Indian cities participate in the workcation economy as hybrid work becomes more established.
IWG operates more than 5,000 flexible workspace locations across more than 120 countries. Its index reflects a business environment in which access to workspace is becoming part of the travel decision for a growing segment of hybrid employees.
The 2026 ranking ultimately points to a broader change in the relationship between work and place. As companies allow employees greater flexibility over where they work, destinations increasingly need to offer more than attractive scenery. Reliable connectivity, affordable accommodation, transport, workspace and quality-of-life factors are becoming part of the infrastructure of a modern work destination.
Bangkok’s lead, Tokyo and Barcelona’s continued strength, and Mumbai’s entry into the ranking all point to the same evolution: the workcation is moving from a niche arrangement toward a more established feature of flexible work.
