We may look back at 2024 as the year when overtourism reached a breaking point.
In many of the world’s most visitor-clogged destinations, local governments enacted new restrictions and fed-up residents staged anti-tourism protests to what seemed an unprecedented degree.
A town in Japan put up a big black screen to block people from taking photos of Mount Fuji. Venice, Italy, started charging an entry fee for day-trippers. And in parts of Spain, where residents’ patience seems to have worn especially thin, thousands protested, “tourists go home” became a graffiti cliché, and, in one memorable episode, out-of-towners were sprayed with water pistols at Barcelona restaurants.
For international travelers willing to heed the pleas of such places to look elsewhere for vacation inspo, United Airlines is launching a global expansion of service expressly intended to widen horizons beyond the usual tourism hotspots.
The Chicago-based carrier will add eight overseas cities to its schedule in 2025, including several destinations where no other U.S.-based carrier offers service, according to a United announcement.
International Destinations Getting New United Flights in 2025
The following places will receive brand-new United flights from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in the New York City area next year:
• Faro, Portugal: four weekly flights, starting May 16
• Palermo, Italy: three weekly flights, starting May 21
• Bilbao, Spain: three weekly flights, starting May 31
• Madeira, Portugal: three weekly flights, starting June 7
• Nuuk, Greenland: two weekly flights, starting June 14
In the cases of Greenland and Bilbao, United says it will be the only U.S. airline offering direct connections to those places from the U.S.
Greenland’s new, soon-to-open international airport should further make the world’s largest island more accessible to Americans than ever before.
As for Bilbao in Northern Spain, it has not received the magnitude of tourism (at least not yet) experienced by the country’s most crowded places, such as Madrid, Barcelona, and the Balearic Islands.
Bilbao doesn’t even crack the top 10 when it comes to Spain’s visitor numbers, even though the city offers unparalleled Basque Country cuisine as well as cultural and architectural wonders, starting with a renowned Guggenheim Museum outpost. And there are beaches nearby, too.
In 2025 United will also add service to Dakar, Senegal, from Virginia’s Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD; three weekly flights, starting May 23), and, via Tokyo, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (May 1), and Kaohsiung, Taiwan (July 11).
CNBC notes that United’s strategy of experimenting with off-the-beaten-path destinations helps the carrier stand out from other U.S. and global airlines that have largely stuck with tried-and-true itineraries.
As Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, told CNBC’s reporters, “The savvy traveler has been to Paris, Rome, and Madrid so many times that they’re looking for something different.”
Weary folks who live in overtouristed places are likely hoping that’s true of travelers of all sorts.