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.

Please don't do Air bnb or similar. I know some people are not those you would wish to be anywhere near at a hotel for breakfast but
surely you can grin and bear it for a few minutes each day.

If you can do off season and speak a bit of the local language I am sure you will be welcome in many places.

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

Please don't do Air bnb or similar. I know some people are not those you would wish to be anywhere near at a hotel for breakfast but surely you can grin and bear it for a few minutes each day.

That shows very little thought for why people want to use self catering accommodation. With 3DC it's not the other people in the hotel that puts me off it's having to share a small room with 4 other people, what kind of holiday is that? Self catering gives us far more space and flexibility and allows us to cook food the fussy eater will eat so he doesn't live on NT scones for a week.

And large chains buying up locally owned businesses and turning them into AI as that doesn't help the local economy either

Not Europe but we've had a couple of lovely holidays in Morocco recently - very friendly, great customer service, great food, beautiful weather and lots of interesting things to do.

Where you stay depends on the place. AI in Cuba is government run so a bad idea. But casa particulares are great. The opposite might be true in Spain.

I do home stays if I'm travelling independently but with the family, we just get the least worst/most locally supportive option. And spend money away from the hotel.

mountain areas and inland areas in Croatia and Slovenia are lovely - great hiking and not crowded with tourists.

Airbnb is just a booking platofrm - so why not use it? especially as going for self catering.

As for the OP we loved Slovkia (and not in europe Ghana has been our best holiday)

In some large cities in Spain, half of the Airbnb rentals are unlicenced and controlled by criminal gangs. Sometimes the owners of the apartments are unaware, because the gangs rent from them at normal residential prices and then illegally sublet (a week's holiday in Barcelona or Palma is the price of a month's longer-term rental). So your accommodation has no insurance (for example, if the cooker starts a fire), and if there's a problem, you will be dealing with people who commit crimes for a living.

In effect it's a bit like buying illegal drugs: great for the user, if all you want is the high, but there's a whole criminal world behind it.

Of course, there are also plenty of legitimate properties on Airbnb. Just make sure you check that they are legally licenced, because Airbnb themselves couldn't give a monkey's. That means seeing the full licence application including the exact apartment address, because a common trick is to get one licence and recycle it for 10 properties in the same building.

@samarrange

Just make sure you check that they are legally licenced, because Airbnb themselves couldn't give a monkey's. That means seeing the full licence application including the exact apartment address

How do you check exactly?

In Spain it's an ETV licence. A legitimate place should have a plaque up outside when you arrive. But quite how you check via Airbnb at the time of booking isn't clear. Again, they don't care (and they don't cooperate with the licensing authorities). They hope that you don't care either.

The risks to the renter are fairly small — there are places where the owners/subletters recently got massive fines but they are still listed. Now the authorities have to prosecute them from scratch again.

It needs specific legislation, which might come if enough people find themselves priced out of residential areas by tourists. But seizing the property is out of the question if the owner is innocent.

I found Switzerland extremely welcoming, the people there were very helpful and the free local travel was a lovely touch.

Turkiye has it all and people are very welcoming.

My understanding is that the protests are in the hope of the Spanish government changing regulations around tourist lets of apartments in areas where locals are unable to find homes to rent - rather than protests against the tourists themselves.

That aside I would think that a tourist in self catering accommodation is a lot better for the local economy than someone staying AI in a hotel.

I'm English & to be honest I stayed in Lanzarote last June in an air bnb villa with a lovely pool run by a local company and the Spanish neighbours were friendly; we (my sister and I) went to a couple of small towns in the mountains and were made to feel welcome everywhere there by the locals as well as in the resorts and beach areas. We also hired our car from a local Lanzarote company who gave us very good rates.

We always stay Airbnb in Lanzarote and use the same few people / companies who are local. My sister emails them to check them out as much as possible. One guy is a local who runs a few villas to fund his kitesurfing habit.

We went to South Moravia in Slovakia, flying into Brno.
Felt welcomed, didn't hear any other English tourists, but no trouble being understood in shops or restaurants. Stayed in Znome in the wine region, but went swimming in lakes did boat trips etc as well as some wine tasting. Worth a look to see if it would suit you.

We are recently back from Tirana in Albania. Possibly not the prettiest city I've ever been, but certainly one of the most interesting. Also some great day trips to lovely countryside and coast. Very cheap by European standards, and setting themselves up for tourism. It's early days for them (as a local told us 'bear with us, we're new to tourism"), but we had a fabulous time. They are building hotels by the dozen, and now is a great time to go before mass tourism arrives. I'd recommend it to anyone .

@budgiegirl How long did you go for and how easy/difficult was it to get around without a car would you know?

I never drive abroad, that stress is for others to take lol! And I love using local buses and trains as you can see the "real" people/life a bit more that way.

Sounds intriguing. I've no doubt it will take a few years to get even close to the stage of other Med areas, so as you say, good to go soon!

I’m going to Oman on the 15th November. Really looking forward to it. It’s National Day whilst I’m there, so there should be fantastic day of celebrations.

Blackpool is in decline - they'd be thrilled to have you.

'Land of my birth' but only marginaly warmer than Scotland. We have had holidays (in Summer schools hols) on the beach and when it has rained everyday!

Yes, after fruitlessly trying to find a hotel with interconnecting rooms so we could safely not sleep in the same room as our kids we gave up and booked an airbnb.

Self catering has always existed, my family did self catering holidays in the 80s.

The problem is too many self catering cottages and apartments in one place.

Same with second homes.

AirBnB in its original model was fine. By which I mean rooms in peoples' houses, cabins/ shepherds' huts in their gardens, or even family homes rented out for a few weeks per year (I live in Cornwall and have a few friends who do this, and though invariably a massive stress it gives them a good chunk of money).

Businesses renting out a portfolio of shiny, bland cottages that should be homes? Nope nope nope.

Great thread. I'd planned to see some of Europe by train next summer and like the idea of places that are keen to have tourists. After this thread I'm considering Greece to Italy via Albania / Croatia / Slovenia or perhaps Romania / Slovakia. I may be back with questions!