by The list of places that are sick of over-tourism seems to grow every day.
Even faraway Juneau, Alaska’s state capital, will soon be voting on whether to introduce “ship-free Saturdays” to reduce the impact of cruise passengers.
But the vast majority of destinations are desperate for more tourists, not less.
Inbound tourism is the closest any nation, resort, county or city can get to free money. Social and economic benefits are highly desirable to visitors.
They foster entrepreneurship and create jobs, as well as boosting local amenities to a level that the residential population alone could not sustain.
Among the “soft” benefits are building pride in the community and improving people-to-people understanding.
Most places would love to have the “problem” of over-tourism. They share the same challenges. How:
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Attract more tourists, preferably of the high-spending variety
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Attract people during off-peak hours, extending the season
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Convince visitors to stay longer
Some are trying harder than others, and I’ve chosen locations around the world that are likely to be well received.
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Albania
“Our slogan is ‘Albania – all you need is here’,” says the tourism minister, Mirela Kumbaro.
She aims to make her nation “pro-tourism in the region by 2030”. The aim is to reach an annual number of visitors five times higher than the population of 2.8 million.
Albania has doubled the capacity of Tirana airport and is building a second airport in the south of the country which will be aimed at tourists.
Ms Kumbaro promises: “You can make a lot of friends. Friendship is part of our tourist offer. Hospitality is the main characteristic of Albania.”
I’ve been visiting this wild and wonderful Adriatic nation since the 1980s – when it was the hardest-hitting communist nation in Europe (and a partner of China rather than the Soviet Union). Since the fall of Enver Hoxha’s dictatorship, the country has become much easier to reach and even more interesting.
This summer Albania is more accessible at lower prices than ever from the UK. Tirana, the capital is good fun for a few days, with several interesting museums dedicated to the dark days of state communism.
Inland, Albania shares the beautiful Lake Ohrid with North Macedonia – loosely known as “Lake Como”. Albania is definitely affordable.
On the coast, Durres is the main resort – and the one recommended for its proximity to Tirana. It has an attractive beach and some great places to eat and drink.
Cuba
In the early 1990s, Cuba’s ideological soulmate and financial supporter, the USSR, collapsed. Fidel Castro took the significant step of declaring in 1994: “Only tourism can save Cuba.” With red tape eased and cheap Caribbean sun available, international visitors flooded in.
Thousands of package tourists from Britain arrived every year. But our love for the Caribbean’s largest and most attractive island has faded, and the last Tui charter flight from Manchester to the main resort, Varadero, left in April.
This month the current president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, reiterated the desire for tourists – who, he said, would appreciate “the comfort of our hotels, the beauty of our beaches and our landscape, and the security that visitors enjoy and citizens enjoy, among other things. of interest”.
The main attraction is the faded glory of Havana, its citizens, their music and architectural treasures from the Spanish colony to the hotel of the 20th century.
To taste more of Cuba, at a more leisurely pace, head east to the city of Matanzas – on an attractive bay about 20 miles west of Varadero. Known as the “Athens of Cuba”, the main square has several attractive buildings.
The best choice in Cuba is Varadero, a beautiful 12-mile peninsula with a picture-postcard-perfect beach.
Florida
Unlike the Communist island just 90 miles offshore, the Sunshine State doesn’t exactly have an under-tourism crisis. Overall, Florida attracted slightly more international visitors in 2023 than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, but UK numbers were down 14 percent.
“We continue to invest in the UK market, which is second only to Canada for us,” Florida vice president of marketing Brett Laiken said in May. He promised an increase in “consumer activity to create that demand”.
US domestic tourists traditionally stay off during July and August, the void partly filled by the 21st century equivalent of Kipling’s “mad dogs and Englishmen”.
To avoid too many compatriots, British visitors may want to go beyond Orlando’s theme parks and Miami Beach hotels. Tampa and St. Petersburg make a great combination of two cities, and the Florida panhandle—the thin strip of northwestern territory—feels like another world entirely.
Morocco
The North African kingdom wants to double the number of annual international tourists to 26 million by 2030 – the year it will co-host the football World Cup with Portugal and Spain.
As part of this programme, the government has opened up its skies – with fierce competition between easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair from the UK. Manchester-Tangier on Ryanair is one of the latest new routes. “Morocco is closer than the Canary Islands,” says Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC. “It has everything from beaches to a sense of mystery.”
Marrakech is the main tourist attraction. The heart of the city is the large open square, Djemaa el Fna, where makeshift cafes serve food cooked over red-hot coals. The centuries-old medina, with its maze of alleys and masses of vendors, is the main attraction. I recommend the beautiful Jardin Majorelle: founded by Yves Saint-Laurent and which houses the Museum of Islamic Art. But don’t forget Casablanca, the vibrant commercial hub; the elegant capital, Rabat; and Fez, which has the nation’s most atmospheric medina – rightfully so on the Unesco list.
Outside the cities, there are notable resorts on the Atlantic coast in Agadir and Essaouira – the latter is more relaxed and colorful. Inland, the Atlas Mountains are great hiking territory and the desert is also accessible.
Northern Ireland
“For a long time, Northern Ireland was not seen as an attractive tourist destination due to our recent troubled weather,” says the Department of the Economy for Northern Ireland.
He now has a plan for the next 10 years: “To increase the value of tourism to the Northern Ireland economy by 50-75 per cent compared to 2019.”
One component of that ambition: reducing costs for visitors by subsidizing travel costs. Visitors from Great Britain flying into Derry Airport in the north-west on easyJet’s new connections from Edinburgh and Liverpool will enjoy using a friendly little airport which will be set up at a rate of £6,000 a day with public money.
Derry/Londonderry is Northern Ireland’s most impressive destination: at its heart, a walled city on a hillside, with stunning landscapes (and seascapes) beyond – and lots of stories to tell, ideally with a local guide.
The capital of Northern Ireland is host to the hugely successful Titanic Belfast attraction, the encyclopedia Ulster Museum and a vivid representation of recent events in the “Peace Wall”. Among the many possible side trips, I especially recommend the train to the beautiful port of Bangor.
Saudi Arabia
“We win the hearts and minds of people by opening our doors to the world through a tourism sector where life-changing stories happen every day” – that is the aim of the Saudi tourism ministry.
The nations were judged on the scale of their presence at international travel industry events such as the World Travel Market in London and ITB Berlin. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia would have gone from the last place two decades ago (when its presence, I remember, consisted of one man and a desk) to the first place, with a huge, shiny and very populated pavilion to look for and like more than Rutland.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the man with a plan. Saudi Arabia’s ruler plans to attract 150 million tourists by 2030. Complicated visa rules have been scrapped, and women under 40 no longer need to travel with a husband or brother.
A new airline, Riyadh Air, has been established to help visitors fly in. Highlights include the desert oasis of AlUla, the coastal city of Jeddah and the capital – including the national museum and the “reimagined” Diriyah Gate area, another Unesco world heritage site. On the horizon: Red Sea resorts to match those in Egypt, and a new Saudi-owned cruise line, Aroya.
But many people are put off by Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights and its treatment of women and gay people. “Same-sex relationships are illegal,” says the Foreign Office. Her colleague, the US State Department, says: “Reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to the threat of missile and drone attacks. Exercise increased vigilance in Saudi Arabia due to terrorism, the risk of arrest based on social media activity, and the importation of prohibited items.”
Some international travelers also enjoy a drink while on vacation. Visit Arabia says: “The sale, purchase and consumption of alcohol and drugs is illegal in Saudi Arabia.”
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