2024 has seen the heightening of tensions between tourists and locals across Europe and beyond. Popular hotspots Barcelona, Venice, and Tenerife have all seen large-scale demonstrations against mass tourism, and look likely to spill over into a continent-wide movement. With protests now planned in San Sebastian, Amsterdam, and Seville, where I visited this summer (sorry guys), has the day of reckoning come for Brits abroad?
Fear not, mi amigo, because you can still get your “un cerveza por favor please mate” elsewhere. Other countries across the planet are, in fact, encouraging tourism. It’s time to swap Madrid for Morocco, the Canaries for Canada, and Barca for the Balkans – let’s talk about ethical tourism, baby.
"With hopes that tourist numbers will double by the next decade, cities such as Fes and Agadir have seen major investment..."
Morocco
Following a successful bid to host the 2030 World Cup, Morocco plans to spend the next six years developing major tourist infrastructure. Over 3 million fans flocked to Qatar to watch Lionel Messi and Argentina lift football’s most prestigious trophy, so it’s safe to say that Casablanca and Marrakech have their work cut out for them. Keen to avoid the empty stadiums and deserted streets that have blighted Qatar since 2022, however, the North African country has aimed to incorporate the World Cup into its broader long-term tourism strategy. With hopes that tourist numbers will double by the next decade, cities such as Fes and Agadir have seen major investment while anti-tourist protests erupt in neighbouring Spain. I always preferred tagine over paella anyway, so perhaps it’s time to accept Morocco’s invitation and take a trip to the Atlas mountains this summer.
Canada
The land that gave us Ryan Gosling, Neil Young and everyone’s favourite Stanford Medal-winning violinist Martin Beaver, Canada isn’t a country you’d think of as being short on tourists. After all, it’s just the USA but fundamentally better in almost every sense! Unfortunately, the commonwealth state has struggled to retain its tourism numbers following the pandemic and a decline in the number of Chinese tourists. Like Amsterdam, Cannabis is legal in Canada, but unlike Amsterdam, Canada isn’t fed up with tourists, and also there’s bears too. Having been a sub-editor at The Courier for a few months now, I’m well aware of our target demographic and how much they love weed and bears, so provided you don’t combine the two, it looks like ‘Great White North’ is the place to be.
The Balkans
While Croatia’s tourist hotspots of Dubrovnik and Split are becoming overstretched, other nations across the Balkans are crying out for visitors. The impact of COVID, as well as war on the doorstep in Ukraine has left a hole in economies such as Serbia – nothing kills off the holiday mood like the Russian army, I suppose. The region has endured so much hardship, but is one of the most culturally diverse places on the planet, with elements of Middle Eastern, European and Eurasian culture to be found everywhere. There’s bears there too, by the way.
