A FEW THOUGHTS

Once again National Geographic have published their annual ranking on “sustainable destinations“. I am a bit surprised the norwegian fjords topped the list again, as they did five years ago. I would think there were more “sustainable destinations”, but that may be my subjective opinion being from Norway. I’m not going into that. I am not going to comment the top destinations at all. But the worst rated places;

Northern Red Sea Coast, Egypt
Packed with shapy mediocre resorts the area suffers from “chaotic development.” Urban sprawl is imminent and the coral reefs are being destroyed.
The seventh worst place

North Coast, Dominican Republic
A land of all-inclusive resorts where visitors hardly glimpse the real life of the place. The quantity of tourism arriving is a very big problem and as a consequence the locals are marginalized and desperate, and the experience is exploitive.

St. Maarten/St. Martin
On the Dutch half of the island tourism has gobbled up the culture, which is now defined by the hotel/casino industry. The French side is overbuilt but has avoided so far the fast-food joints, casinos, and concentration of duty-free shops.

Cabo San Lucas Region, Mexico
Sleepy fishing villages have been transformed into places where drinking tequila shots upside down is the number one tourist attraction and gated communities are the main economic activity.The fourth worst destination

Grand Bahama, Bahamas
True tourism folly—unfinished shells of hotels, tacky shopping areas and cruise ship hell. Wealthy outsiders have bought up all the beachfront, leaving nothing for anyone else.
As a result, the locals are extremely bitter.

West Bank, Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine
The tourism industry in this symbolic town is in shambles because of ongoing Israeli-Arab fighting. No matter what their politics, tourists here will be upset by the giant wall, the intimidating border crossing, the desolate and hopeless feeling of the city. I can think of a couple of other places I feel fighting is causing bad vibes for the holiday also, but this one was a good one. Second worst.

Costa del Sol, Spain
Ahh… Now the worst of them all. Costa del Sol in Spain. A place where both myself and half of Norway has spent vast amount of time;) But I think NG got this one right too:
Costa del Concrete was the big loser in the rankings, staying at the bottom of the list, where it was in 2004. This year it scored even lower, by 10 points. A textbook example of mass tourism run amok with high-rise hotels, crammed beaches, water shortages, pollution, and indifference to local culture.