Faroe Islands Launch Self-Guided Tour Vehicles

In case you 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 normal “must-see” spots. In actual fact, in accordance with a 2024 McKinsey & Firm report, round 80 p.c of vacationers go to simply 10 p.c of world points of interest—leaving a lot of the world untouched and unexplored.

It’s no completely 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 attention-grabbing about it.

With the assistance of Google Maps, Go to Faroe Islands (the official tourism board) lately launched a fleet of rental vehicles with a built-in tour information. Once you lease considered one of these autos, you conform to 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 a substitute encourage guests to expertise the islands’ lesser-touristed spots. Once you lease the automobile, you conform to comply with the automobile’s step-by-step instructions, with no thought what the day’s locations shall be.

“Throughout the globe, vacationers collect across the identical iconic ‘scorching spots’, pushed by algorithms and social media that create a closed ecosystem the place photos from widespread locations appeal to much more folks to these very areas. The result’s overtourism—and predictable experiences,” Guðrið Højgaard, chief govt officer for Go to Faroe Islands, stated in a press launch obtained by Journey + Leisure. “Faroe Islands have skilled rising strain on chosen websites themselves, and now we are attempting to reverse the movement—fairly actually.”

After reserving with 62N automobile rental, a associate 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 way in which, native tales are shared. 

Along with taking vacationers to regionally beloved 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 method 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 expertise and creativity may provide a brand new method for vacationers to find the Faroes—one which leads them into locations they could by no means discover on their very own,” stated Højgaard. “It is a extra considerate sort of journey, designed to each shield what’s most beloved and reveal spots usually 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, embrace 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—despite the fact that they embrace the price of the itinerary and audio information.