If you’re already planning your vacation for 2025, you might want to avoid these places.
Fodor’s has released its 2025 “Do Not List” – a list of destinations tourists should reconsider visiting because they are “suffering from unsustainable popularity” and “collapsing under the weight of their own importance”.
The travel guide begins with perennial off-the-list destinations that “keep getting called out, but things don’t seem to be getting any better. And in many cases, they are getting worse.”
Topping the perennial list is Bali, Indonesia, where overcrowding has created a “plastic apocalypse.”
Fodor’s noted that Bali’s tourism industry and environment are trapped in a vicious, “fragile” cycle: The economy thrives on hospitality, which relies on natural landscapes.
The island had about 5.3 million international visitors in 2023, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics for Bali Province. This has boosted the economy but strained infrastructure, leaving once-pristine beaches buried under piles of trash.
“Overtourism touches the core of Balinese life,” Kristin Winkaffe, a sustainable travel expert with a focus on Southeast Asia, told Fodor’s. “Invariably, we are risking more than just beautiful landscapes – we risk losing cultural identity itself.”
Also on the permanent list are “European destinations where the locals don’t want you”.
This summer, protests erupted over tourism in places such as Barcelona, Mallorca, the Canary Islands and Venice.
In places like Lisbon, and almost all popular European destinations, the cost of accommodation and living has been increased by tourism. Around 60% of Lisbon housing is now holiday accommodation, reducing supply and driving up demand and costs, according to Fodor’s.
Koh Samui, Thailand, also made the list, and while it has always suffered from over-tourism, many fear what will happen when the new season of Max’s hit drama “The White Lotus” – which will be set in the country – to premiere in 2025.
The strain tourism may have on Koh Samui may become “unmanageable” if the White Lotus has the same effect it had on Sicily.
Mount Everest was also warned due to a degrading environment and major safety concerns for local workers as well as the climbers themselves.
“Crowds, garbage and cultural dilution in the Everest region pushed me to guide,” said Amit Khadka, a former Everest Base Camp guide who is now involved with KEEP. “I couldn’t give my customers a good experience with all that garbage and crowds. I felt guilty for being there, contributing to the excess.”
The list continues in a section of “Destinations Starting to Suffer,” identified as places that need to be proactive “before it’s too late.”
These locations include Agrigento in southwestern Sicily, Italy – which is gearing up to become the Italian Capital of Culture in 2025 – as well as the British Virgin Islands; Kerala, India; the Japanese cities of Kyoto and Tokyo; Oaxaca, Mexico; and the North Scotland Coast 500 (NC500).
“While these destinations may not have garnered widespread media attention highlighting their dire situations, industry insiders are beginning to voice concerns based on their own observations and experiences,” Fodor’s explained.
The travel guide explains that the destinations on the list “deserve the fame and adoration they receive”, and are well worth the time and money spent – but the challenges they face are real.
“The ‘No List’ serves to highlight destinations where tourism is putting unsustainable pressures on the land and local communities,” the travel guide says, although Fodor’s clarifies that it does not support travel boycotts as they harm local economies and bring no ” meaningful change.”
Fodor’s 2025 No List
There is no perennial list:
- Bali, Indonesia
- European destinations where locals don’t want you – Barcelona, Mallorca, Venice, Canary Islands and Lisbon
- Koh Samui, Thailand
- Mount Everest
Destinations that have started to suffer:
- Agrigento in Sicily, Italy
- British Virgin Islands
- Kerala, India
- Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan
- Oaxaca, Mexico
- North Coast of Scotland 500
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