From bubblegum-coloured lakes in Australia to a solar-powered safari camp in Botswana, these are BBC journalists' top destinations this year.
Travel has the power to connect, inspire and even transform us. Peering over the edge of a crashing waterfall in Newfoundland and ascending sawtooth spires in the Italian Dolomites reveal how wondrous the world can be. But while travel should be a force for good, the past year has reminded us that it also has the potential to overwhelm and even harm the places we love, and many destinations are now imposing new restrictions as they grapple with the negative effects of overtourism. In the BBC's inaugural guide to the best places to travel this year, we wanted to highlight the destinations experiencing the opposite phenomenon.
Each of these 25 spots is not only welcoming visitors and offering incredible travel experiences, but also using tourism to support local communities, protect the environment or preserve their unique cultural heritage. As tourism in many regions soars past pre-pandemic levels , and extreme weather and climate change reveal the fragile impermanence of many bucket-list destinations, travelling thoughtfully means considering where your trip can serve a larger good.
From trekking through a moonlike landscape in Bolivia to Arctic glamping in Greenland on the world's largest island, your next great adventure is just ahead. Ever wanted to swim alongside sperm whales? Dominica now offers the chance to do it in an ethical, sustainable way as part of the Caribbean island's groundbreaking commitment to marine conservation and regenerative tourism. The island nation recently established the world's first sperm whale reserve , a protected marine area designed to safeguard its resident giants.
Limited permits for whale swims ensure intimate, respectful encounters, offering visitors a once-in-a-lifetime experience to share the water with these incredible cetaceans while facilitating research and creating sustainable tourism opportunities for local residents. New for , expanded infrastructure and systems are set to welcome visitors, including digital immigration forms to ease arrival and the development of a cable-car system taking riders from Roseau Valley up to Boiling Lake , one of the world's largest thermal springs.
