Planning your next UK staycay? Right now there’s no shortage of places being hyped up by travel publications. Lonely Planet is singing the praises of East Anglia. National Geographic reckons the Outer Hebrides should be on your bucket list. Condé Nast Traveller says Sussex is where it’ll all be at in 2025.
But here’s something that could make your choice that bit easier. One travel company is advising travellers against visiting one UK destination next year, saying it is ‘congested’ and suffers from overtourism.
Every year, travel guide company Fodor’s publishes its ‘No List’, in which it names places around the world that are suffering from the unsustainable pressures of tourism. This year’s list – which you can read in full here – features the likes of Bali, Mount Everest, Koh Samui and European destinations like Barcelona and the Canary Islands.
Interestingly, Fodor’s 2025 No List also features somewhere in the UK: Scotland’s North Coast 500 (NC500). The coastal road passes through the Scottish Highlands and is regularly ranked among the most scenic drives in the world.
Fodor’s has placed the NC500 on a list of ‘destinations beginning to suffer’, urging officials and communities to ‘take proactive measures to address looming threats before it becomes too late’.
Explaining the NC500’s inclusion, Fodor’s says: ‘Roads are congested with traffic, increasing the frequency of accidents and causing significant delays for locals.’
The report explains further that ‘a shortfall of adequate facilities including campsites, toilets, and designated chemical waste areas is causing issues along the route’ and that wild camping has led to locals ‘finding campfire scorch marks, trash, disposable grills, and even human feces [sic] in their wake’.
So, what’s the solution? Fodor’s says the road’s owner NC500 LTD seems to be focusing on educating tourists, though Visit Scotland is apparently also trying to ease pressure on NC500 communities by encouraging tourism in other places. Some locals are in favour of having more rangers patrolling behaviour on the route.
You can read the full Fodor’s report here.
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