Bucket list dos and don’ts: Fodor’s releases its 2020 GO and NO lists, with the Florida Keys and Barcelona not recommended and Albania and Queens in NYC green-lighted
- A total of 13 places around the globe have been put on the No list for 2020
- They should be avoided due to ‘ethical, environmental or political concerns’
- Go list numbers 52 destinations around the world, one for each week of the year
Don’t book any getaways for next year just yet – at least not until you’ve taken a look at Fodor’s Travel Go and No lists for 2020.
The No list surfaces destinations that should be avoided due to ethical, environmental, or sometimes even political concerns and includes Barcelona, Bali, the Matterhorn, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the USA, and Cape Town, South Africa.
The Go list numbers 52 destinations—one for each week of the year—and includes Albania, Athens, the Andalusia region of Spain, Queens in New York City and the Faroe Islands.
Fodor’s Travel has released its Go and No lists for 2020. The Florida Keys is on the No list as a place to avoid
Both lists were curated by the Fodor’s editorial team. They started with an initial list of hundreds of destination that were narrowed down to the final Go and No lists after several rounds of ‘intense discussion and debate’.
A total of 13 places have been put on the No list for 2020 and they fall into eight categories.
The first category is called ‘places that don’t want you (or want you in smaller and better doses)’ and lists places suffering from ‘overtourism’.
These include Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Big Sur in California and the Hanoi Train Street in Vietnam.
Barcelona is on the No List under the category ‘places that don’t want you (or want you in smaller and better doses)’
The Florida Keys and Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel in Mexico come under the category of places with ‘sickly coral reefs in need of healing’.
The Matterhorn in Switzerland is named as a ‘place that could kill you’ as seven climbers lost their lives scaling the peak in 2019.
The ‘places (rightfully) considering charging large tourist taxes’ are the Galapágos National Park and Komodo Island, Indonesia.
The guide also advises Cape Town be avoided as it is a ‘city safe for tourists but deadly for residents.’
The country of Albania makes Fodor’s Travel Go list for 2020. Pictured is Grama Bay in the country
Meanwhile, in addition to specific destinations, the 2020 No list recommends travellers take pause when considering certain types of locations, such as ‘places to be cautious about drinking’, naming Mexico and Central America, and tourist attractions that offer elephant rides.
On the Go list, Fodor’s says the destinations are all ‘must-sees that should be on every travel enthusiast’s bucket list’ and that they suit a ‘wide variety of travel styles and budgets’.
They include the ‘dramatic scenery’ of Uzbekistan’s desert oases, the ‘kitschy whimsy’ of Palm Springs, California, the ‘romantic charm’ of Bucharest and ‘the haunting beauty of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast’.
Fodor’s says the destinations on its Go list are ‘must-sees that should be on every travel enthusiast’s bucket list’. One of them is Galway in Ireland, pictured
Other entries include Galway in Ireland, Christchurch in New Zealand, Brisbane in Australia and the Japanese capital Tokyo.
Jeremy Tarr, editorial director of Fodors.com, said: ‘The places on this year’s Go List have not only shown extraordinary resilience thanks to the people who have always called them home, but are stalwart in their perseverance of what’s to come next.
‘Ultimately, they are our inspirations for our tomorrows.
‘Every year, we use the No List to highlight issues that we’re thinking about before, during, and long after we travel.
‘Being featured on the No List is hardly a scarlet letter. Rather, it’s a promise that when Fodor’s covers the destinations on the list, we’ll be doing so responsibly – warts and all.’