Holiday destinations that want more tourists?

[ghostofadog]

Just thinking about holidays for next year. After seeing all the protests reported in places that feel like they are being overwhelmed with tourists (Barcelona, Mallorca etc) I just don't want to go somewhere I'm not welcome or cause issues for people who live there. Does anyone have suggestions for European holiday destinations where local people actually want more tourists but is still a nice place to go? And also with reasonable weather, not too hot but warmer than Scotland! We love Sweden so might just go back there but wondered if there are other places that we could consider.

I heard that Albania is getting spruced up for tourism.

Protests against overtourism that attract a few thousand participants get wall-to-wall media coverage, precisely because such sentiments are held by a tiny minority of people.

But somehow the UK media have managed to convince people that hundreds of people are being violently assaulted by anti-tourism gangs across the Mediterranean. (I guess there's no mystery to it: It's a "Man bites dog" story, which the clickbait media world loves.)

Your chances of encountering even the slightest manifestation of hostility towards tourists in Spain or another high-tourism country are vastly less than your chances of being assaulted by a drunken fellow tourist or having your bag stolen/pocket picked, both of which are actual risks that most people have long discounted.

i thought the protest was about Airbnb type places both taking housing stock off the market and pushing up prices ( for locals ) as there’s less supply.

Croatia feels very welcoming.
Even Greece. Their economy needs us!

Eastern Slovakia! It has beautiful countryside full of historic towns, castles and churches, has stunning mountains and lakes. It does get some tourism from Austria and Germany but very few English people and it could definitely do with more people visiting. Fly to Poprad or Kosiče.

My mum grew up there and my parents have a house there. I did initially wonder of it was a place we could holiday repeatedly and yes, it really is. It's small but there is a lot to see and do.

France's GDP is 2% tourism and they know it. Just don't stay in an Airbnb! That pretty much goes for anywhere: spend money locally and don't use semi-legal accommodation that makes life difficult for locals.

You could try less saturated Mediterranean places eg. go to Tarragona rather than Barcelona.

Otherwise Albania as said above. Slovakia really IS beautiful. Romania is fascinating- Transylvania is beautiful. Morocco, places like Essaouria on the coast are great for a beach hol. Or Fes if you like an adventure.

We loved Montenegro last year. It isn't fully equipped to deal with tourism, especially not in the amounts it's starting to get, but it needs people spending money so they can make improvements. Tivat airport for example is absolutely horrendous, just chaos, but just let it go over our heads and didn't get stressed.

Mainland Greece - people spend 2 days in Athens and go off to an island. Lots of money has been spent trying to attract people out of Athens and in to the rest of the mainland.

We did the main sites of the Peloponnese this year and finished on the west coast at a beach resort. Well more 2 hotels, perfect sand and practically no one there.

Isle of Man. Great place, amazing beaches and castles but very few visitors when we went this year. Islanders so welcoming but clearly many businesses closed or struggling.

Go out of the main holiday season, we go to the Med in October (just back from Crete) and it's quieter, less hot, and the locals are happier to see you. Also, I feel like I should point out airbnb is just a website with good photos and an excellent search engine that has perfectly respectable businesses advertising on there as well as on other self catering websites. Maybe hotels need to look at why so many people want to self cater rather than stay in hotels and change their offering accordingly.

If you go out of season then most of them will be more chill than height of summer

Yes this. I stayed just outside Barcelona in September. Everyone was really friendly. I actually stayed in an air bnb for the first time in my life. No hostility or protests at all.

I went to Tunisia this year and the local people were incredibly welcoming, hospitable and friendly.

Best customer service I've ever experienced.

Can't speak for Europe but just back from India and they all said they need more western tourists. The cost of our package was similar to the Canaries unbelievably! Look at Coop for deals or book direct with Indian operators

Inland and northern Spain - the bits far from the Med.

Austria

Slovenia

Transylvania - stunningly beautiful bit of Romania where King Charles has a holiday house

Northern Ireland

Mainland Greece as mentioned, especially the non-coastal areas

Some interesting ideas to look into, thanks. We do prefer self catering but realise that in some locations Airbnb is a big problem! So we're thinking about other accommodation options too.

Oman! For the last 5 or 10 years they've been setting up all the infrastructure for tourists, and it's so friendly.

The Balkans were very welcoming.

Senegal or Gambia.

Rwanda. A family member regularly goes to another country in Africa and it's heavily advertised. They had a stopover there and said it was amazing. Seemed to have undergone a renovation.

Jamaica - treasure beach and negril
TB was hit by the hurricane and they're rebuilding and asking us to go.
Stay in Jamaican owned hotels and spend in local restaurants etc, both are v safe (unlike mo bay) and you'll have the time of your life.

Greece is generally quite welcoming, even on the islands although I’d avoid the busiest spots like Santorini and Mykonos and probably avoid August everywhere. Tourism forms a large part of most of the smaller islands economies and most people recognise this. A high proportion work in tourism and rely on the short summer season for a large part of their income.

Jamaica and Rwanda might be nice but OP said Europe.

Forget RTFT. I can't even make it through the OP.