The list of places overwhelmed by overtourism grows longer every day.
Even Juneau, the capital of Alaska, will soon vote on whether to implement “ship-free Saturdays” to reduce the impact of cruise passengers.
However, the majority of destinations need more tourists, not fewer.
Inbound tourism is the closest thing any nation, resort, town or city can get to free money. Visitors bring highly desirable social and economic benefits.
They encourage entrepreneurship, create jobs and expand local opportunities to levels that the resident population alone could not sustain.
“Soft” benefits include instilling a sense of pride in the community and improving interpersonal understanding.
Most places would love to have the overtourism “problem”. They share the same challenges. Here’s how:
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Attract more tourists, preferably the high-spending kind
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Attract people during low season by extending the season
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Convince visitors to stay longer
Some try harder than others, and I’ve chosen places from around the world that are likely to be particularly hospitable.
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Albania
“Our slogan is ‘Albania – everything you need is here’,” says Tourism Minister Mirela Kumbaro.
His aim is to make his country a “regional tourism champion” by 2030. The target is to reach an annual visitor figure five times greater than its population of 2.8 million.
Albania has doubled the capacity of Tirana Airport and is building a second airport for tourists in the south of the country.
Ms Kumbaro promises: “You can make many friends. Friendship is part of our tourist offer. Hospitality is the main characteristic of Albania.”
I have been visiting this wild and wonderful Adriatic country since the 1980s – at the time it was the most staunchly communist country in Europe (and a partner of China rather than the Soviet Union). Since the collapse of Enver Hoxha’s dictatorship, the country has become much easier to get to and much more intriguing.
This summer Albania is accessible from the UK at lower prices than ever before. The capital, Tirana, is a fun few days out with some interesting museums dedicated to the dark days of state communism.
Inland, Albania shares beautiful Lake Ohrid with North Macedonia – also known as “Cheap Lake Como.” Albania is definitely affordable.
On the coast, the main resort – and recommended because of its proximity to Tirana – is Durres, which has an attractive beach and great places to eat and drink.
Cuba
In the early 1990s, Cuba’s ideological soul mate and financial backer, the USSR, collapsed. Fidel Castro made the remarkable move in 1994 to declare that “only tourism can save Cuba.” With bureaucratic hurdles removed and cheap Caribbean sun on offer, international visitors flocked.
Tens of thousands of British package holidaymakers used to come every year, but our love affair with the Caribbean’s largest and most alluring island faded and the last Tui charter flight from Manchester to the main resort of Varadero was in April.
This month, Cuba’s current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, reiterated his desire for tourists, saying they would appreciate “the comfort of our hotels, the beauty of our beaches and landscapes, the security and other attractions enjoyed by visitors and citizens.”
The real draw of Havana is its faded grandeur, its people, its music and its rich repertoire of art from the Spanish colonial period to the ornate architecture of the early 20th century.
For a taste of more of Cuba at a more leisurely pace, head east to the city of Matanzas, located on an attractive bay about 20 miles west of Varadero. It is fondly known as the “Athens of Cuba” and has some attractive buildings in the main square.
Varadero, Cuba’s top resort, sits on a beautiful 19-kilometer peninsula with a postcard-perfect strip of beach.
Florida
Unlike the communist island just 90 miles off its coast, the Sunshine State isn’t exactly suffering from a tourism crisis. Overall, Florida is set to attract slightly more international visitors in 2023 than it did in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, but UK numbers are down 14%.
“We continue to invest in the UK market, which is second only to Canada for us,” Brett Laiken, Florida’s vice president of marketing, said in May. He promised “an increase in consumer activity to create that demand.”
Domestic tourists from the US traditionally stay away in July and August, and the gap is being filled in part by a 21st-century version of Kipling’s “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”.
To avoid too many nationals, British visitors may want to venture beyond Orlando’s theme parks and Miami Beach hotels. Tampa and St. Petersburg make a great twin-city combination, while the Florida panhandle – the thin strip of land in the northwest – feels like another world entirely.
Morocco
The North African kingdom aims to increase annual international tourism numbers to 26 million by 2030. This year, it will host the World Cup alongside Portugal and Spain.
As part of the programme, the government has opened up the skies from the UK to fierce competition from easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair. Ryanair’s Manchester-Tangier route is one of the latest new routes. “Morocco is closer than the Canaries,” 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 large open square, Djemaa el Fna, is the city’s center and is full of makeshift cafés serving charcoal-grilled dishes. The centuries-old medina, with its labyrinthine streets and throngs of vendors, is the main attraction. I recommend the beautiful Jardin Majorelle, founded by Yves Saint-Laurent and home to the Museum of Islamic Art. But don’t overlook Casablanca, the lively commercial hub; the elegant capital, Rabat; and Fez, which has the country’s most atmospheric medina and is rightfully on the Unesco list.
Beyond the cities, on the Atlantic coast, there are notable resorts at Agadir and Essaouira – the latter more relaxed and colourful. Inland, the Atlas Mountains are superb hiking terrain and the desert is also accessible.
North Ireland
“Northern Ireland has long been considered an unattractive tourist destination because of its recent troubled history,” says the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy.
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: keeping visitors’ costs down by subsidising travel costs. Visitors from the UK flying to City of Derry airport in the north-west on new easyJet connections from Edinburgh and Liverpool will enjoy the use of a small, friendly airport supported by public money at a rate of £6,000 a day.
Derry/Londonderry is Northern Ireland’s most intriguing destination: a central, hillside walled city with stunning views (and sea views) and plenty of stories to tell, preferably with a local guide.
Northern Ireland’s capital is home to the hugely successful Titanic Belfast attraction, the encyclopedic Ulster Museum and a vivid reflection of recent events in the ‘Peace Wall’. Among the many possible side trips, I particularly recommend the train to the pretty harbour of Bangor.
Saudi Arabia
“We win people’s hearts and minds by opening our doors to the world through a tourism sector where life-changing stories happen every day” – this is the aim of the Saudi Ministry of Tourism.
If nations were judged by the scale of their presence at international travel industry events, such as the World Travel Market in London and ITB Berlin, say, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia would have gone from last place (as I recall, its presence consisted of one man and one table) to first place two decades ago, with a huge, shiny, densely populated pavilion that looked bigger than Rutland.
The man with the plan is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi ruler aims to attract 150 million tourists by 2030. Complex visa rules have been eliminated and women under 40 no longer need to travel with a husband or a brother.
A new airline, Riyadh Air, has been set up to help visitors fly. Main attractions include the desert oasis of Al Ula, the coastal city of Jeddah and the capital region – with its national museum and the “reimagined” Diriyah Gate area, another Unesco world heritage site. On the horizon: Red Sea resorts similar to those in Egypt and a new Saudi-owned cruise line, Aroya.
But many people are deterred by Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and treatment of women and gays. The State Department warns that “Same-sex relations are illegal.” The U.S. State Department says: “Reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to the threat of missile and drone attacks. Exercise increased caution in Saudi Arabia due to terrorism, risk of arrest based on social media activity, and import of prohibited items.”
Some international travelers also enjoy drinking while on vacation. Visit Saudi warns: “The sale, purchase and consumption of alcohol and drugs is illegal in Saudi Arabia.”
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