The list states 15 places travellers should avoid in 2025. Photo / 123rf
The list states 15 places travellers should avoid in 2025. Photo / 123rf
Typically, a destination ranking encourages travellers to visit certain places because they’re the best, or up-and-coming.
One annual list, from travel website Fodor‘s Travel, does the exact opposite. Each year, Fodor publishes a ’No List’ that describes places travellers should avoid the following year because they need a break from tourism.
These places aren’t bad, Fordor’s clarifies; their beauty and history are why they have become so popular.
However, when the visitor experience is prioritised over locals’ well-being, environmental, social and political consequences occur. Not only does this effect locals but visitors too This has an impact on both locals and visitors.
“Navigating cities packed with tourists is frustrating; sightseeing in towns where locals resent your presence is upsetting; and wandering through nature littered with trash is depressing,” the ranking states.
If you plan to visit one of these 15 destinations in 2025, you may want to reconsider.
Every monsoon season thousands of tonnes of plastic and flotsam rubbish wash up on Bali's famous pleasure beaches. Photo / Last Chance 4 Earth; Facebook
Bali, Indonesia
Unfortunately, a Kiwi favourite has returned to the list after it was first named a “no-go” in 2020. Bali is experiencing a “plastic apocalypse”, Fodor’s writes, because of “rapid, unchecked development spurred by over-tourism”.
The problem is that Bali’s tourism industry uses its natural environment to entice tourists, which then put pressure on the land. Famous beaches in Seminyak and Kuta are now littered with plastic rubbish as local waste management systems fail to keep up with international tourists, which hit 5.3 million in 2023.
The environment isn’t the only factor. Several European destinations made the list because mass tourism has raised living costs, overwhelmed infrastructure and resources, and watered down culture.
In particular, Fodor’s included a category called “European destinations where locals don’t want you”. This includes Barcelona, Mallorca and the Canary Islands in Spain; Italy’s Venice, and Lisbon, Portugal.
“It’s a jarring change,” Fordor writes. “Many of these destinations have been aggressively marketing to visitors for years and have reaped the economic advantages.”
These advantages are often in the tens of billions. According to Fordors, tourists visiting Barcelona spent €9.6 billion ($17.3b billion) in 2023.
Sign advising visitors and tourists to act respectfully in Barcelona.
Famous for its luxury villas and top-shelf resorts, the stunning island has already hit pre-pandemic tourist numbers, which have experts worried about excess waste and development.
Mt Everest, Nepal
Despite its challenging conditions, the sacred mountain of Everest has long been a tourist hot spot, largely because adventure tourism allows even the least skilled tourists to visit if they have enough money.
Mount Everest has become a popular bucket list activity for travellers. Photo / 123rf
As a remote mountain community, Everest was never set up to manage large amounts of people and waste, putting a significant strain on the natural environment. Additionally, locals face higher risks when employed to assist inexperienced travellers eager to tick the mountain off their bucket list.
Destinations beginning to suffer
The second part of Fodor’s list reveals locations that are not yet in a state of emergency but are trending that way.
On the list is Agrigento, a town in Sicily, Italy, which has been named the Italian Capital of Culture of 2025 despite its current water crisis.
Kerala, India has also been named because of a recent surge in tourism which has resulted in unregulated and unsustainable development that leaves the region and its people vulnerable to natural disasters.
Oaxaca is known for its indigenous culture and vibrant art scene.
Oaxaca in Mexico also made the list due to over-tourism and locals complaining that “culture and customs are being commercialised”. Scotland’s North Coast 500 (NC500), a road trip that Fodor’s speculates is becoming too popular, increasing traffic jams, resulting in more vehicle accidents, and “causing significant delays for locals”.
“While these destinations may not have garnered widespread media attention highlighting their dire situations, industry insiders have started expressing concerns based on their observations and experiences,” Fodor’s stated.
