Travel dupes were all the marketing and social media rage over the last few months, fueling a major global travel trend, but is it a boon or bane for the destinations.
Destination dupes. Summer swaps. Destination detours. Travel twins. If you’ve been reading travel news, or well, just news in general, you are bound to have happened upon one of these terms or some iteration of it providing one list of destinations as an alternative for another list of destinations. Countries, cities, neighborhoods, even specific experiences have been compared and, depending on the term applied, been replicated, replaced, or some such.
In most cases, the recommendation, which has existed all along and almost always in plain sight, is offered as another version of or instead of a so-called original offering that now appears to have fallen out of favor courtesy overtourism, overpricing, commercialization, and a plethora of other issues that are location- or activity-specific. By the looks of the number of searches that pop up for destination dupes or its sister terms, travelers are eating it all up.
“Traveler decisions and actions are fueled by the desire to have exciting and memorable experiences and perceived value for money. Many popular destinations are facing two problems: they are becoming too crowded, and the offering is too commercial. If a traveler is interested in ticking off a checklist of popular attractions and is willing to pay for that, then they are fine with the original destinations,” says Dr. Milena Nikolova, Chief Behavior Officer at BehaviorSmart, a global sustainability consultancy firm that applies behavioral insights to influence more sustainable and responsible travel.
Continue Reading Article After Our Video
Recommended Fodor’s Video
“Many travelers today have solid travel careers and mature demand cultures. They value a quality experience, enjoy authenticity, and seek to make smart choices to enjoy good value for money. This is what fuels demand for alternative places and destinations than the golden classics,” she says.
Where is the authenticity factor then if one destination is presented as a duplicate for another, with most marketing and publicity zeroing in on the same atmosphere, experiences, or scenery as the draw from the former to the latter?
“A dupe can sound like an insult, but it can be an opportunity. Travelers love being in the know and finding a place that’s just as charming without the crowds or high prices. That’s an advantage for destinations willing to embrace the label and market themselves smartly,” says George Quicksmith, who has an MSc in Behavioral Science from the London School of Economics, and along with colleagues Kim Bagayawa and Mike Dell, who runs hospitality creative consultancy The Essential Hotelier, hosts the Psycho Hospitality Podcast, which explores enhancing guest experiences through the lens of behavioral insights.
A Dupe Isn’t Second Best, It’s an Alternative
That seems to be the approach that the city of Macon in Georgia has chosen after being named a dupe destination to Nashville in a November 2023 AARP article on affordable destinations.
“Our initial thoughts were opportunistic in that it positioned our destination during a time when travelers were mindful of inflation, the economy, as well as overtourism in some major destinations,” says Gary Wheat, President/CEO Visit Macon. The destination made a concerted effort following the pandemic to reach eager travel audiences through media engagement. “We considered the term cause for celebration as Macon was a forgotten music destination that has had arguably just as much impact on American music history as Nashville and Memphis.”
He shared that the media attention has been a catalyst for tourism growth in Macon complemented by the development of new attractions and enhancements to others. Planned tourism growth was already being implemented, but the media attention amplified the tourism initiatives. New hotel developments have been planned to prepare the destination for the influx of visitors to area attractions.
Are Destination Dupes Well-Positioned to Address This Newfound Fame?
“Some places actively manage tourism by capping visitors or spreading out demand, while others let it spiral out of control. For under-the-radar spots, a surge of visitors brings an economic boost and visibility. But that same surge can overwhelm infrastructure, stretch local resources, and alter the very character that made the place appealing in the first place,” says Quicksmith.
Many destination dupes appear to not have had an inkling they were being promoted in such a manner in media but are happy for the attention and riding out the wave while it lasts.
Bora Bora and the Islands of Tahiti were named a destination dupe for the Maldives in one southern California television news segment in time for summer travel, when there was more availability than usual during peak season.
“With the Olympics Surfing competition that took place in Tahiti in July, it seems the public perception might have been that the destination would be busy, as crowds normally follow the Olympics. What many didn’t realize was that the competition wasn’t open to spectators, meaning there were no large crowds as typically associated with such global events,” noted Kristin Carlson, Account Director, Tahiti Tourisme.
Unable to gauge the impact on tourism from that specific media mention, she shared, “The destination has implemented a comprehensive five-year plan focused on sustainability and responsible tourism, which includes a visitor cap designed to preserve the natural beauty and ecological balance of the islands. These measures ensure that tourism remains sustainable and aligned with the needs of the local environment and communities.”
Many spots that experienced overtourism have resorted to a visitor cap or efforts that lead to a visitor cap, such as a visitor fee, timed entry, or other means. This includes tourist-loved destinations like Amsterdam, Venice, and Greece. And these are some of the larger, more well-known destinations.
When Iceland gained tourist attention in the last decade, travel industry news site Skift published the report “Iceland and the Trials of 21st Century Tourism” in 2016, with founder and CEO Rafat Ali stating, “If a first-world country like Iceland is having trouble with figuring out the solutions, what hope do countries like Cuba or Burma have?” He could well be referring to any of the dupes, twins, swaps, and detours today.
“It is not,” says Dr. Nikolova, “but it could be a market-driven mechanism for alleviating pressures around hotspots when the local authorities cannot. A destination that is not used to significant visitor flows can become a victim of overtourism quicker than the ones that have reached excessive flows after many years. Destinations with less infrastructure, fewer services, and less readiness to deal with tourism can suffer from negative impacts with much less tourists than more experienced touristy places.”
Macon appears to be proactively handling that. Wheat shared, “The key language being utilized in Macon is “strategic tourism growth” with emphasis on where tourism infrastructure growth is needed, being mindful of potential impacts to citizens and neighborhoods. Macon’s story is authentic, and extra effort is being taken to ensure that tourism investment and growth allow the destination to maintain said authenticity.”
Quicksmith’s colleagues Bagayawa and Dell agree that dupes redistribute demand, “but they don’t address the core problem of too many people chasing the same experiences at the same time. The real fix lies in changing how we approach travel altogether. What if we nudged people toward off-peak seasons or encouraged them to explore less predictable itineraries? The long-term solution requires both smarter planning and a shift in how we think about travel.”
Dr. Nikolova, however, believes that businesses must act. “Travelers pursue experiences; they will rarely, or never, sacrifice the opportunity to engage in an adventure that they think will be memorable and exciting. So, they cannot be the source of behavior change that is needed to reduce overtourism and pressure risks. The businesses within a destination can and should be the ones who incorporate offerings that by design prevent behaviors and choices that are damaging for the destination or could reach damaging growth levels.”
Some destinations are trying to collaborate with industry and agree on ethical codes or guiding principles that will have everybody within the destination ecosystem commit to certain principles. Dr. Nikolova cites the case of Swedish Lapland with its Care for the Arctic as one example.
“When everybody pre-commits, and there are public ‘rules’ for doing business before the floodgate opens, it is more likely that the entire ecosystem will act in ways that prevent damaging developments. Even if individual players are tempted to benefit from quick profit opportunities, there will be social pressure and ecosystem barriers that stop or at least limit it.”
