What destinations are experiencing "undertourism"?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/19371857

I'm curious to learn about places around the globe that have a significant amount of underutilized tourism infrastructure. In many cases, I suspect that governments are propping up unsustainable tourism operators or investing in tourism with a "build it and they will come" mentality.

Here are a few examples that I'm aware of:

  • Qatar - The country has an oversupply of hotels relative to the number of visitors, and its tourism economy heavily relies on layover tours due to the strength of Qatar Airways' network.

  • Saudi Arabia - In an effort to diversify its economy away from oil, the country is pushing a massive tourism development agenda, despite having many factors that make it less appealing to visitors. Religious tourism seems to be a primary focus.

  • North Korea - For obvious reasons... For example, only a few floors of the Ryugyong Hotel are ever occupied.

  • Northern Japan (Aomori, Akita, Sendai) - These places are heavily fueled by domestic tourism, and are basically deserted for half of the year (despite attractions and so on still functioning).

To clarify, I'm not looking for hidden gems or places that are simply underrated travel destinations. Instead, I'm interested in learning about locations where there is a clear mismatch between the available tourism infrastructure and the actual number of visitors.

I want to find places where I might end up being the only visitor to a museum or one of few tourists on an airport bus. The fact that these museums and airport limo buses even exist is where the question stems from.

mrmule ,

I actually enjoyed Sendai, but I do have friends there. There's not much to do, but the food is insanely good. Sendai beef is grade A5 to A7 for example, which just beats Kobe hands down. Also giant buddah statue ftw.

Pixel OP ,

I liked getting the Sendai Area Pass and just taking the Loopie bus. It was a pretty good value and in many of the smaller attractions, I was the only tourist there that day (like the Sankyozawa 100-Year Electric History Center).

It made it pretty easy to see Sendai in two days. The only thing that was closed in the winter that I would've liked to see were the University of Tohoku's botanical gardens (not that there aren't other botanical gardens I couldn't have gone to).

I really enjoyed Gyutan too (beef tongue) too. I don't know if I got to try high-quality beef but I definitely enjoyed the food.

CanadaPlus ,

Interesting that northern Japan is deserted in the Winter. That might actually be a hidden gem, if you're used to winter anyway.

Pixel OP ,

I tend to run pretty hot. Right before I visited Japan in January, I was in Southeast Asia and dying from the heat. The locals told me it was the coolest time of the year yet I was struggling to survive... I am partial to a mild winter I guess.

bhmnscmm ,
@bhmnscmm@lemmy.world avatar

I think Greenland will fit the premise of your question in a few years.

There's not a ton of tourism infrastructure yet, but there are currently a lot of subsidies going into roads, airports, lodging, etc. to induce more tourism.

https://traveltrade.visitgreenland.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Strategi-EN-feb2021.pdf

Pixel OP ,

This is a great find. I remember about a year ago, people were speculating that Air Greenland was going to become a partner of Air Canada - my hopes were dashed when that didn't materialize.

bhmnscmm , (edited )
@bhmnscmm@lemmy.world avatar

I'd definitely like to go there someday too--it's just a bit too remote for me at the moment.

I can see its tourism becoming what Iceland was like 15-20 years ago.

mrmule ,

I'm in South Greenland atm and it's just amazing! No tourists, no tours, no souvenirs just incredible nature and huge mountains. I've not been to Iceland yet, but the nature here is just so amped up it's insane. Bonus icebergs floating around all year!

bhmnscmm ,
@bhmnscmm@lemmy.world avatar

Those are the exact things I'm looking for (just waiting for a few more roads to connect towns). I'm glad to hear it's living up to the expectations I've heard of!

I went to Iceland a couple years ago and the landscapes are amazing, but there are definitely areas where you run into a lot of tourists, busses, etc.

I'm visiting the Faroe Islands later this year and I'm hoping to experience some rugged landscapes in relative isolation there too.

mrmule ,

There will never be roads to connect towns, there's too many mountains. Best take a boat or a helicopter 🚁. Definitely have Faroe on my bucket list too.

bhmnscmm ,
@bhmnscmm@lemmy.world avatar

I would have thought so too, but they're working on at least one. Although you're right about a lot of places being unfeasible--anything more than dirt/gravel in a very limited number of communities would be cost prohibitive.

CanadaPlus ,

I feel like they actually could attract a reasonable number of adventure tourists who can't afford a charter plane.

HobbitFoot ,

I feel like the basic premise has different subgroups which vastly alters the reason why there is a ton of this infrastructure:

  • Seasonal tourism

Tourists come, but only for part of the year. The most extreme example would be Mecca, which gets flooded with religious tourists for a few weeks every year. However, most seaside towns and ski spots get included as well.

  • White elephant projects

The government builds something to attract tourists, and this is commonly tied an international event. The Olympics have left tons of modern ruins in its wake from governments overspending to attract tourists and gain prestige. There are also local convention centers and other projects meant to bring people in

  • General decline

You had an area that was once popular, but now isn't. Atlantic City, New Jersey is a good example, it was the only place to gamble on the US East Coast and therefore had tons of casinos and hotels. With the rise in Indian gaming and cheap flights to Vegas, going to Atlantic City stopped being as popular. You could also include rust belt cities which built out decent infrastructure for a population far larger than what they have.

randombullet ,

Lofoten Islands near the equinoxes.

We did a trip during the spring equinox and while things were still not cheap, it was not crowded and you have 12 hours to explore the northern lights and 12 hours to explore the islands.

A little snow on the ground still bust safe to hike a little.

The fall equinox you could definitely hike while it's not crowded plus it's warmer then.

H4mi ,

Mogadishu has tried increasing tourism for years but no one wants to visit.

It could be because you would immediately get robbed, raped and killed as a tourist there, but what would I know.

Pixel OP ,

I think I'm going to need a source for that...

On top of that, there's little tourism infrastructure in Mogadishu so I doubt that. There's basically Omar and Ali's Visit Mogadishu outfit and his guest house, and that's really about it.

luthis ,
@luthis@lemmy.nz avatar

https://www.travelsafe-abroad.com/somalia/

Pretty easy to find really...

randombullet ,

https://apnews.com/article/somalia-syl-hotel-attack-alshabab-7a9bdd2dd1da050e942819afe2ba4b4a

Hotel siege March 2024

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65861346

6 killed at a hotel siege June 2023

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/somalia-hotel-attack-al-shabab-12-dead-mogadishu-hayat-hotel-rcna44051

20 killed Hyatt August 2023

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61196325

6 killed seaside restaurant 2022

Pixel OP ,

None of these sources point to tourism promotion in Mogadishu.

charlytune ,
@charlytune@mander.xyz avatar

It's not just tourists that need to worry about that stuff. I have friends with Somali heritage and they don't want to go there either, even with having family there.

INHALE_VEGETABLES ,

French island, Australia.

No police. No ambulance. Nobody registers their cars. Snakes everywhere.

That said there's not many tourists, the place is Australias wild west.

slazer2au ,

Australias version of Australia. Got it.

INHALE_VEGETABLES ,

It has the highest rate of gun ownership in the country because there's a few collectors living on the island... When the cops get on the ferry, the workers onboard call everyone to let them know.

The place is unhinged.

Hugh_Jeggs ,

Methil and Buckhaven but there's a good reason for that

Pixel OP ,

Not sure that counts - there's like 4 hotels in the whole area.

Hugh_Jeggs ,

Sounds like a gap in the market tbh

plactagonic ,

My hometown Brno used to be dead in season (June to September). There are lots of places geared to tourists but mainly for domestic weekend tourists and students. So in season students go home and other people go to some more exotic locations for longer periods of time.

Now it is somewhat better than that but still there are few tourists in season.

Pixel OP ,

I'm surprised I guess, BRQ airport has seasonal connections across Europe...

plactagonic , (edited )

When you look at it in context:

City population: ~450 k people.
Students: ~50 k only about 10-15% from Brno.

So this city loses about 1/8 of population in summer months.

Edit: bad math 1/8 not 1/5

HakFoo ,

I'd think the domestic resorts of places like the UK. They were perfect for 1930s factory workers, but cheap air travel probably made them uncompetitive with places offering better weatger and atrractions.

Of course, I suspect a lot of the old hotels are repurposed/torn down now.

Pixel OP ,

My guilty pleasure is watching those YouTube videos of people vacationing at absurdly cheap caravan parks, and the general vibe I get is that these places are pretty run down but are surprisingly adequate if all you're looking to do is get away from town. Low-cost European carriers have definitely done a number on a lot of domestic UK resorts though - they simply aren't competitive for the reasons you've stated.

spittingimage ,
@spittingimage@lemmy.world avatar

I visited Brno out of season eight years ago, and while there were tourist attractions available, it was hard to get to some of them. The Punkva Caves only had buses twice a day, for example.

So instead we mostly stayed in and relaxed, which was a welcome break at that point in our trip and I remember Brno fondly because of it. And my wife was giddy with joy that she was able to find a copy of Infarkt in a comic shop.

Tylerdurdon ,

North Korea

To clarify, I'm not looking for hidden gems...

I...I kinda figured that one out

federalreverse ,

I would be interested to go there, definitely. Just maybe not while the regime is still in place. But I am bettng Pyongyang is quite impressive and rural areas, while super-poor may be too.

ianovic69 ,
@ianovic69@feddit.uk avatar

Dom Joly writes about visiting North Korea in his book The Dark Tourist: Sightseeing in the World's Most Unlikely Holiday Destinations.

Apologies for the Amazon link, I couldn't find another direct way. If you do audiobooks, he reads all of his own I think and he's brilliantly funny and enjoyable to listen.

federalreverse ,

Thanks!

magnetosphere ,
@magnetosphere@fedia.io avatar

I don’t want to go to North Korea because what if I sneeze in the presence of a photo of the Great Leader and get a 50 year jail sentence?

krdo ,
@krdo@programming.dev avatar

I have to agree. It's simply not worth the risk.

luthis ,
@luthis@lemmy.nz avatar

You're over-reacting. It's probably only death at worst. Most likely 40 years.

SkaveRat ,

Abroad In Japan did a series on northern japanese tourist destinations. And I would absolutely love to visit it some winter just to hang out in onsen for the whole trip

Pixel OP ,

Highly recommend it, especially between the edges of off-season and shoulder season. I went to Fukushima and was basically one of two tourists in town (the other being a Rwandan artist-in-residence). When I was in Sendai in January, the most touristed attraction (Sendai Castle ruins) couldn't have had more than 40 visitors, and I remember taking a $10 airport limo bus to the hotel meant for 55 travelers, and I was the only one on it. I've made it a goal to visit Akita and Aomori in the future.

Cheradenine ,

If off season counts then most anywhere around the European Med from early September to mid October. Things are still open, the weather is great, but the tourists have all gone back to work and their kids to school.

Pixel OP ,

I'd say it counts so long as they aren't basically closing for the off-season.

henfredemars ,

While this is no longer current information, I feel inspired to share about the situation in Aruba during the pandemic.

My wife and I visited and we heard a sobering story from a bus driver of how desperate the situation became due to lack of tourism. The economy is very dependent on visitors, and he spoke of suicides, out of despair of course when people feel they have no options.

You may find that many small islands are tourism hopefuls though not well known as travel destinations. When the economy is already very small, even a little investment in tourism could be disproportionate. As a tiny example, try Malapascua in the Philippines. It is so very small and access is challenging due to strong currents. I know it well because I’m a direct descendent of the natives who lived on this microscopic island.

sub_ubi ,

Costa Rica when I last went in ~2016 had vast resorts that were empty around Monteverde. $6 a night for a room.

LibertyLizard ,
@LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net avatar

Wow was that a seasonal issue? Monte Verde is quite well known as a tourist destination.

Catoblepas ,

Was this after eruption? I remember hearing that impacted tourism a lot.

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