City vacations have their appeal, but if you’re looking for a quaint destination to experience local culture, then consider the 54 destinations just named best tourism villages by the United Nations.
For its third annual list, the organisation chose among 260 applications from across five regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. It selected the winners, which are not ranked, based on nine factors, including cultural and natural resources, social sustainability, tourism development, and infrastructure and connectivity.
The best tourism villages in the world
“Tourism can be a powerful force for inclusivity, empowering local communities and distributing benefits across regions,” Zurab Pololikashvili, the secretary-general of the UN World Tourism Organization, said in a press release obtained by Travel + Leisure. “This initiative acknowledges villages that have harnessed tourism as a catalyst for their development and well-being.”
Twenty more villages were selected to join the Upgrade Programme, which supports rural destinations close to meeting the criteria where gaps were identified during the selection process. A total of 74 villages joined the UN’s Best Tourism Villages Global Network, which now comprises 190 villages since its inauguration in 2021.
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This year, Europe led the way with 19 villages, among which Portugal and Spain have the most representatives. Ericeira, the coastal fishing town north of Lisbon, known for its surf breaks; Sortelha, a medieval hilltop village that is also a National Monument; and Manteigas, located in the picturesque Serra da Estrela mountains, bordering a glacial valley, have all made the cut in Portugal. In Spain, Cantavieja, a historic village also named one of the most beautiful in the country; and medieval Sigüenza, with its centuries-old architecture, were among the winners. Italy’s Mediterranean village, Lerici, a scenic hillside community of colourful dwellings crowned by a castle, was also recognised.
Moldova was one of the newcomers this year. Văleni, a mountainous village located next to a lake in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, was selected for its natural beauty and cultural heritage.
One village in Ethiopia, Lephis, located near the beautiful Lephis Waterfall, was the sole pick from Africa. In Hokkaido, Japan, the small town of Biei, partly located in the country’s largest national park, Daisetsuzan National Park, attracts visitors with its picture-perfect natural landscapes and wildlife diversity.
You can see the full list of villages from 2023 and previous years at unwto.org.
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(Hero and feature image credit: GiuVaClik/Getty Images)
This story first appeared on travelandleisure.com
Related: Travel In 2023: Visit The Villages Embracing Tourism While Preserving The Local Environment
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