The New York Times has released its annual list of the world's best places to visit, and it looks different from past editions. This year's list is called "52 Places for a Changed World" for locations that are not contributing to overtourism and where there are efforts to address climate change.
In this week's blog, we're highlighting three locations from the list that you can visit with Tourisismo.
With the Coronavirus pandemic heading into its third year, global travel is slowly returning to normal. As it does, according to the New York Times, travelers are starting to consider the effects of their tourist lifestyle on the sites they visit and the natural environment.
From the article:
"Beyond the pandemic, there is a profound shift underway in the world’s understanding of climate change and the swiftness and degree to which we are already seeing its effects. Wildfires, floods, dangerous storms, rising water levels and temperatures: all remind us how fragile our world really is. The travel industry is responsible for somewhere between 8 and 11 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
"There is also the problem of overtourism, which has been held in check by the pandemic, but threatens to reassert itself when the world once again starts to move. The crowds that have made Venice all but impassable in the high season, or turned neighborhoods in Barcelona into Airbnb outposts, have thinned for now. But will we have learned anything from the forced shutdowns, or will the same patterns re-emerge?
"Yet as the tourism industry’s Glasgow commitment demonstrates, travel can also be part of the solution, and not only on climate. Travel supports depleted economies in places that depend on tourists’ dollars and opens the eyes of travelers to cultures and customs different from their own. That thought is the animating spirit behind this year’s list, '52 Places for a Changed World.'
This list, instead, highlights places where change is happening, "where endangered wildlands are being preserved, threatened species are being protected, historical wrongs are being acknowledged, fragile communities are being bolstered — and where travellers can be part of the change."
Here are three places that made the list that you can visit with Tourissimo.
Chioggia
"Built on a cluster of islands in the Venetian lagoon, with centuries-old buildings rising from the canals in all their decadent glory, Chioggia is called 'piccola Venezia,' or little Venice. Locals beg to disagree: If anything, they say, it’s nearby Venice that should be described as Chioggia’s larger doppelgänger, and it’s true, Chioggia is older. Venice is so worried about being overwhelmed once again after the pandemic that it is planning to resort to surveillance cameras and cellphone data to control the crowds; visiting other culturally rich places like Chioggia can help relieve the pressure. Today, Chioggia is popular with Italian and German visitors, drawn both by the architectural beauties in the historic center and the family-friendly beaches of its mainland suburb, Sottomarina. The city, which has preserved a rough maritime vibe, can serve as an ideal base for bicycle tours. It is also known for its radicchio. During a time of increased awareness of overtourism, this miniature Venice is a delightful alternative for travelers looking for a lesser-known destination." — Anna Momigliano
Visit Chioggia with us on our Lake Garda to Venice Lagoon Cycling Tour.
Naples
"See Naples and die, they say, meaning that this Mediterranean beauty should be on everyone’s bucket list. But sadly, Naples faces a precarious future. Without intervention, this densely populated city is expected to experience 55 days of extreme heat per year by 2049 and 93 days by 2081, according to a recent report. The good news is that some locals are rolling up their sleeves. A group of residents in the working-class neighborhood of San Giovanni a Teduccio has set up a “fair energy” community to provide free, clean electricity to families living below the poverty line, with a system of 166 solar panels. Local authorities encourage tourists to visit the city by foot, taking tours across Naples’s fabled stairways. The Pedamentina, a scenic route tracing it roots to the 14th century and consisting of paved descents and more than 400 steps, cannot be missed." — Anna Momigliano
Visit Naples with us on our Volcanoes of Southern Italy Hiking Tour or before/after our
Hiking Tour of The Amalfi Coast and Capri.
Slovenia
"Slovenia wants to cook for you, because the June 2020 launch of the first Michelin guide devoted to its restaurants was a source of national pride. It validated the way this central European country of just over 2 million people has been putting environmentally responsible travel and its good food and wines at the heart of its identity as a desirable destination for travelers since it became independent 30 years ago. “From the very beginning, we knew our food was special and would become a major reason to visit our country,” says Ana Ros, the chef at Hiso Franko, Slovenia’s most famous restaurant and the only one with two Michelin stars. Slovenian cooking is a delicious reflection of the country’s location at a culinary crossroads between Mediterranean, Germanic and Slavic countries, but the real reason its food is so good is that it’s made with produce from the country’s small farms. Some of them, like Govc, are part of a farm-stay network the Slovenian government launched in 1992." — Alexander Lobrano
Visit Slovenia with us on our award-winning Cycling tour of Friuli and Slovenia.
Our Philosophy
One of the silver linings of the pandemic has been a recognition of the need to address overtourism and other negative effects of travel. In 2021, I wrote about this topic for the Wanderful Blog.
When we started Tourissimo in 2015, one of Beppe's main goals was to bring tourism to places in Italy that could benefit from it. This is reflected in our Mission Statement:
We don't want to be the biggest adventure travel company. We want to design and run the best tours in Italy.
We strive to be the most authentic and the most beneficial to local communities.
We take pride in where we are from. We want to highlight the best of what Italy has to offer and provide a truly authentic experience by creating tours that:
- immerse our guests in the local culture and benefit the local economy,
- take our guests behind the scenes, away from the crowds and into the heart of Italy, and
- enrich the lives of not only our guests, but of the people and places they visit.
When we design a tour, we consider the economic, social and environment impacts of our visit, and always work to be a positive presence. Even when we go into popular, crowded areas, we do so in a way to minimize negative impact.
This article that appeared in the Dallas Morning News in 2016 shows our take on a responsible way to visit the Cinque Terre.
