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If you’re thinking of embarking on a backpacking adventure or just traveling on a shoestring budget, then there are some places you might instinctively avoid.
Big cities like New York, London, and Tokyo have a reputation for being too expensive for budget travelers, for example.
But there are some places that may be at the top of your bucket list that you no longer want backpackers and budget travelers to visit.
Instead, they are focusing on attracting luxury tourism in an attempt to stimulate their economies.
Here are four tourist destinations they want budget travelers to steer clear of:
bali
While Bali has a reputation as a budget travel destination and is incredibly popular with backpackers, the country has made significant strides in discouraging budget travelers, particularly those traveling to the island due to its reputation for debauchery and excess.
The Indonesian government wants to move from attracting quantity to quality when it comes to visitors to Bali.
When the island reopened after the pandemic, Indonesia’s Maritime Coordination Minister Luhut Panjaitan stated that “we don’t want backpackers to come to a clean Bali. We want quality visitors”.
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To promote higher quality tourism on the island, the Governor of Bali is:
New Zealand
After a lengthy lockdown due to the pandemic, New Zealand is now focusing on attracting tourists to its shores.
Tourism contributes to a large part of New Zealand’s economy, accounting for 9.3% of its GDP in direct and indirect contributions.
While all types of tourists are welcome, New Zealand Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has stated that his country will focus on attracting heavy consumers.
“In terms of focusing our marketing spin, it’s blatantly going to be on… high-quality tourists… We’re not going to target people who are posting on Facebook how they can travel our country on $10 a day eating two-minute noodles. .”
This is not the first time Mr Nash has publicly announced that he is focused on attracting the super-rich to New Zealand.
He stated in 2022 that New Zealand wanted the kind of tourist who « fly business or premium economy class, charter a helicopter, take a tour of Franz Josef, and then eat at a high-end restaurant. »
Lanzarote
The Canary Islands have long been popular with tourists thanks to their year-round tropical climate, and Lanzarote is the most visited of these islands.
The British make up about 50% of Lanzarote’s annual visitors, but the island’s president, Dolores Corujo, hopes to reduce the island’s reliance on the British market, instead attracting « higher quality visitors who spend more » in an attempt to get away from “mass tourism”.
This has been proposed as a solution to overtourism on the island: fewer travelers spending more would, at least in theory, reduce congestion for island residents during peak tourist periods.
The backlash to this statement has been significant, particularly from British tour companies operating on the island.
thailand
Thailand has long been a mecca for the backpacking community and for travelers looking for affordable travel opportunities.
That’s not going to change anytime soon, but it’s important to note that the Thai authorities are promoting change and encouraging the tourism industry to focus on more lucrative travelers.
At a tourism event in July 2022, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Aunitin Charnvirakul stated that “we cannot allow people to come to Thailand and say because it is cheap”.
He went on to suggest that boosting Thailand’s reputation as a premium travel destination would be a better route for the Thai economy.
This change has already begun to be affected in real terms.
For example, to access a digital nomad visa in Thailand, you cannot have a backpacking budget. The Thai digital nomad visa is only open to those who earn more than $80,000 a year, clearly demonstrating the desire to attract the wealthy to the country.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
