millie2112

I am going to 2 places on the list. Hoping to do a week in Bali for rest and relaxation. We stay in Nusa Dua which is on the east coast. Beach is lovely and there are no signs of all the rubbish that you see on the west coast. The Balinese are beautiful gentle people and they rely on tourism.

End Of August I am off to Japan. Have never been before. I do realise that it has now become a really popular destination.

What is really sad is reading how 60% of apartments in Lisbon are now holiday rentals. I refuse to use airbnb or vrbo. Will always stay in hotels who employ locals.

suze

I never look at stuff like that. Especially one from a travel website. If anything I'd look at government advisories. But I am boring and go the same places over and over. And I know they are OK.

Plus you need to understand. For example, Puerto Vallarta which is in the state of Jalisco Mexico gets advisories. But the areas of concern are a good 8-10 hour car ride away up on the border of the next state.

And I only saw this post because you put it in the Lounge. I never read this "Travel Tips" branch.

mlgb

I would go to Japan. I would visit Mexico again but probably not Oaxaca. I visited in January 2020 as part of a month-long trip. Oaxaca felt more "gringo-ified" than nearby Puebla then, as I mentioned in my trip report. It was more noticeable in the historic central plaza areas and less so out of the center.

I've been to Indonesia and to Bali but did not stay in the beach resorts popular with Aussies.

I've been "over" Europe for some time.

These kinds of lists I classify as "clickbait" and don't pay them much attention. I'm sure that we all could nominate places that are worse than those listed.

crellston

The most annoying phrase ever uttered about travel "you should have gone X years ago when it was less crowded" I have been to many of those places and yes, I have no desire to return to some of those. Just returned from a month in Mexico and didn't find Oaxaca overrun , despite it being the run up to the Day of the Dead celebrations. Merida in the Yucatan was a different matter. It seems to be crammed with either US expats or tour groups from Asia or Europe. I wouldn't return.

There are many places I would now avoid like the plague because of over tourism but would still visit thither places within the country. Luang Prabang in Laos is a prime example, another Siem Reap/Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Both suffer from way too many visitors and are now quiet unpleasantly crowded. I would however visit plenty of other places within those countries.

Our last trip to Japan I didn't enjoy as much as the first, due in no small part to the influx of Chinese , Korean and Taiwanese tour groups. I wouldn't visit China on ethical grounds , but Taiwan and Korea we loved - may be it is all about the tour groups than the places?

Wouldn't it be great if we as travellers, could visit all these wonderful places without the inconvenience of crowds of tourists getting in the way? I am off to play my copy of the 10cc album "Bloody Tourists"

Dukey1

is it possible for a locality to limit the number of “tourist rentals?” If it doesn’t then that sends a definite message. I am currently in Egypt and the number of visitors at what some would call the “must see” sights is not surprising and does not make some of the places nicer to visit IMO and in fact, makes them less attractive.And yet here I am doing exactly what I do not like. i have often enjoyed visiting places in the so-called “off” or “shoulder” seasons but there are some things I am interested in attending and contributing money to the local economy when I do so that do not happen in those less-visited times.

Dukey1

there are a lot of people who visit places and suffer no more “inconvenience” than picking up the remote and diving into YOUTUBE.

is it “the same” as a “real” visit? No but in some cases perhaps a way to know what to expect and possibly avoid.

mlgb

There are governments which promote tourism, a good example is the Tren Maya which was an AMLO pet project despite being opposed by many internal enviromental groups in Mexico. I wonder if the train's opening had anything to do with crellston's experience in Merida and Izamal, which are both on the route from Cancun Airport.

crellston

We passed several Tren Maya stations during our time in the Yucatan , all off which seemed to be in inconvenient locations way outside of the towns, few seemed to be using them and I don't think much is in operation yet. I did try booking a train, one of my fav travel methods, but gave up as it was too hard. The Mexican government don't make it easy!

Government promotion (interference?) in tourism seems to be a double edged sword - on the one hand promoting the hell out of country and then comparing of the effects of overtoursim when they are successful. Every where seems to want to attract the high spending end of the market and deter the riff-raff. New Zealand being a prime example. I guess it is very much a case of "be careful what you wish for!

mlgb

Hawaii is apparently doing the same thing, very high taxes/resort fees/hotel and overnight parking rates. Now they are bemoaning the drop in hotel occupancy.