- Italy and Japan promote lesser-known travel destinations in order to fight overtourism and provide unique experiences.
- The Faroe Islands have introduced a concept of mystery tours to help distribute tourists more evenly and reduce future overtourism.
Social media has a huge influence on travel decisions, and bucket lists of travelers are becoming more similar. This leads to popular destinations being overcrowded. This trend has encouraged countries like Italy and Japan to innovate and promote lesser known areas to encourage travelers to explore beyond typical tourist hotspots.
Italy’s “99% of Italy” tourism campaign is aimed at redirecting visitors away from overcrowded destinations like Venice and Rome and towards hidden gems, such as ancient villages in La Marche and Etruscan hamlet Sorano. Visit Italy’s CEO, Dr. Ruben Santitopietro, stresses the need to relieve pressure on popular destinations and to give voice to the more authentic but overlooked regions of the country.
InsideJapanTours, a Japanese tour operator, also addresses overtourism in the same way by creating itineraries which combine iconic sites and under-visited areas like Toyama. This “undertourism’ strategy preserves the local culture and supports rural renewal, providing an enhanced travel experience.
In the meantime, the Faroese Islands actively manage tourism through their Self-Navigating Car. This vehicle guides visitors along a secret route that distributes foot traffic away typical attractions. This strategy is aligned with the increasing trend of ‘decision-free’ holidays. It offers tourists a unique, hassle-free experience to explore the islands.
These initiatives are part of a larger movement in the travel and hotel industry to provide more sustainable travel experiences and to encourage tourists to explore the less-traveled roads.
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