Since the pandemic started, travel has changed in many ways, but one change that has been good is the new push toward rural tourism. We started dreaming of the great outdoors during lockdown, whereas before we were determined to complete yet another city break. This hasn’t changed.
Therefore, here are 32 new rural locations to add to your list. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has compiled a list of the “best” rural villages worldwide for the second consecutive year.
It differs from the usual lists of Instagrammable locations in popular tourist areas. Because the UNWTO is a UN agency that focuses on responsible tourism, these villages have been chosen for how they are increasing visitor numbers without compromising the sights and sounds that visitors are visiting. The UNWTO stated in a statement that:
“The award honors rural destinations that are embracing tourism as a driver of development and new employment and income opportunities while preserving and promoting community-based goods and values. In addition, the initiative honors villages for their dedication to economic, social, and environmental innovation and sustainability, as well as their focus on expanding tourism in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The list included 32 villages from all over the world, out of 136 proposed by 57 UNTWO member states. The destinations are listed alphabetically by country rather than ranked.
Only Spain was successful in qualifying all three of its villages, though each nation was allowed to submit up to three for consideration. The list included Guadalupe, Alquézar, and Rupit all. Portugal, its neighbor, had only one entrance: Castelo Novo, one of twelve historic villages surrounded by the Serra da Gardunha mountain range.
Zell am See is at the top of the list for Austria. It is a small town rather than a village that is situated in the shadow of the Kitzbühel Alps on the tranquil shore of Lake Zell. Its kin, Wagrain, is a little ski resort close to Salzburg.
Chile’s entry Puqueldón, the largest of nine villages on Lemuy island in the Chiloé archipelago, is next. China has two villages that survived: Jingzhu in Chongqing, southwest China, and Dazhai in the northern province of Guangxi.
Choke Mountain Village, an ecotourism village on Choke Mountain about 200 miles northwest of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, is one particularly intriguing addition to the list. The cultivating local area utilizes sun oriented energy, biogas and biological waste administration, works maintainable land the executives, and has presented fair exchange the travel industry, where guests can purchase neighborhood honey, espresso, restorative spices and brew as a token of their visit.
The program, which is known as the “Best Tourism Villages” initiative, aims to prevent rural depopulation, advance gender equality, promote innovation, infrastructure, and investment, and lessen regional income and development inequality while also implementing sustainable tourism and cutting down on waste and emissions. UNWTO stated in a statement that the villages on the list have a “clear commitment to innovation and sustainability in all its aspects — economic, social, and environmental.”
Villages that did not meet all of the criteria for the list are supported by an ongoing “Upgrade Program” to increase their chances of being included in subsequent years.
The complete list, arranged alphabetically, can be found below:
• Wagrain, Austria
• Puqueldón, Chile
• Dazhai, China
• Jingzhu, China
• Choachí, Colombia
• Aguarico, Ecuador
• Angochagua, Ecuador
• Gag Mountains Ecovillage, Ethiopia
• Mestia, Georgia
• Kfar Kama, Israel
• Sauris Zahre, Italy
• Isola del Giglio, Italy
• Umm Qais, Jordan
• Creel, Mexico
• El Fuerte, Mexico
• Ksar Elkhorbat, Morocco
• Moulay Bouzerktoune, Morocco
• Lamas, Peru
• Raqchi, Peru
• Castelo Novo, Portugal
• Pyeongsa-ri, Republic of Korea
• Rasinari, Romania
• AlUla Old Town, Saudi Arabia
• Bohinj, Slovenia
• Rupit, Spain
• Alquézar, Spain
• Guadalupe, Spain
• Murten, Switzerland
• Andermatt, Switzerland
• Birgi, Türkiye
• Thái Hải, Vietnam