- The Faroe Islands launched a brand new tourism initiative that includes rental vehicles with built-in audio guides and shock itineraries to lesser-known areas.
- This system goals to fight overtourism by directing vacationers away from crowded sizzling spots and towards extra genuine, regionally cherished experiences.
- The self-guided journeys value round $103 per day and embody curated routes and native storytelling.
For those who ever end up craving extra from a visit—one thing actual, one thing native, one thing past the guidebooks—don’t construct your itinerary across the traditional “must-see” spots. In truth, based on a 2024 McKinsey & Firm report, round 80 % of vacationers go to simply 10 % of world sights—leaving a lot of the world untouched and unexplored.
It’s no totally different within the Faroe Islands, a Danish archipelago within the North Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Norway. However within the Faroe Islands, they’re doing one thing fascinating about it.
With the assistance of Google Maps, Go to Faroe Islands (the official tourism board) just lately launched a fleet of rental vehicles with a built-in tour information. Once you hire one in every of these autos, you comply with comply with an itinerary that results in among the islands’ quieter, lesser-known corners—from roadside eateries to tiny villages tucked in spectacular fjords. The thought is to keep away from the crowds going to the following “must-see” web site and as an alternative encourage guests to expertise the islands’ lesser-touristed spots. Once you hire the automobile, you comply with comply with the automobile’s step-by-step instructions, with no concept what the day’s locations will probably be.
62N automobile rental
“Throughout the globe, vacationers collect across the identical iconic ‘sizzling spots’, pushed by algorithms and social media that create a closed ecosystem the place photos from in style locations entice much more folks to these very areas. The result’s overtourism—and predictable experiences,” Guðrið Højgaard, chief govt officer for Go to Faroe Islands, mentioned in a press launch obtained by Journey + Leisure. “Faroe Islands have skilled growing strain on chosen websites themselves, and now we try to reverse the circulation—fairly actually.”
After reserving with 62N automobile rental, a companion of Go to Faroe Islands, vacationers scan a QR code to activate turn-by-turn instructions that result in the day’s websites. Alongside the best way, native tales are shared.
Along with taking vacationers to regionally cherished locations, the itinerary helps disperse vacationers, who historically all head to a vacation spot’s “prime three websites.” It’s a first-of-its-kind strategy to curbing overtourism, whereas giving vacationers experiences they crave—these which can be regionally pushed, genuine, and void of crowds.
“We got down to discover how know-how and creativity might provide a brand new means for vacationers to find the Faroes—one which leads them into locations they may by no means discover on their very own,” mentioned Højgaard. “This can be a extra considerate type of journey, designed to each defend what’s most beloved and reveal spots typically ignored. With this initiative, we hope to guide by instance, demonstrating how locations can embrace innovation to unfold tourism extra responsibly and meaningfully.”
The 30 itineraries, which had been curated from a locals’ views, embody actions like visiting a roadside fish-and-chip stand, a hike within the fjords, and a go to to historic websites set alongside Europe’s tallest sea cliffs.
The Faroe Islands’ self-navigating vehicles might be booked on the Faroe Islands’ tourism web site beginning July 8. Charges begin at round $103 a day and are not any dearer than a standard rental automobile—regardless that they embody the price of the itinerary and audio information.