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Is it time to ditch the bucket list?conc da quina 460818 August 2025ShareSaveLaura HallShareSaveGetty Images(Credit: Getty Images)In the age of viral travel trends, our bucket lists are looking more alike than ever – and destinations from Italy to Japan are fighting back.Many of us have a bucket list – a record of all the places we want to see and the experiences we want to have in our lifetimes. Popularised by the 2007 Rob Reiner film The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, it's a way of keeping track of our biggest travel dreams. For many, they are just dreams: the time, money and ability to achieve them contingent on a lightning strike of luck happening. For others, it's a case of planning and saving to get to the one place they've always wanted to see.There's nothing wrong with having one, but increasingly, they're starting to look remarkably similar. "Social media is the number one source of inspiration for most travellers," says Grace Beard, travel editor at Time Out. "It's overtaken adverts and travel guides – scroll Reels and you'll see the same trends and places all over the place. The same spots are going viral."This digitisation of travel inspiration has its upsides: we can sit on a sofa anywhere in the world and browse images to stoke our wanderlust. But as algorithms serve us more of what others have already liked, our dreams become homogenised. The result? We all add the same places to our lists – and that's having a negative effect on the travel industry."If everyone wants the same viral picture for their Instagram, it leads to a situation where the expectations don't meet reality," says Beard. "Instead of seeing the iconic view, you'll see a queue."Shaking up Italy's checklist Italian marketing firm Visit Italy is trying to change that. This summer, it launched 99% of Italy, based on data showcasing that 70% of the nation's 70 million annual international visitors head to just 1% of its territory. The campaign calls out the "checklist era" of travel and highlights off-the-beaten track-spots far from the obvious cities and views.AlamyThe hilltop village of Serra San Quirico in Italy's Le Marche region offers timeless beauty without the crowds (Credit: Alamy)"This kind of concentrated tourism is reshaping cities like Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples and the Cinque Terre into fragile, congested spaces that struggle under the weight of mass tourism" says Dr Ruben Santopietro, the organisation's CEO and founder. "Meanwhile, many authentic territories remain invisible, with no voice and no opportunity. Ninety-nine percent of Italy was created to flip that narrative."Rather than visiting the country's iconic landmarks and destinations, Santopietro and team want you to discover the hidden Italy, from the 11 ancient villages of La Marche to the Etruscan hamlet of Sorano and the Ligurian fishing village of Varigotti. If they sound like parts of Italy you can't quite place, that is largely the idea. Japan's undertourism approach In Bristol, specialist tour operator InsideJapanTours is taking a strategic approach to altering the classic bucket list. As a company that takes UK travellers to Japan, its team has seen the impacts of overtourism first-hand.Thoughtful TravelWant to travel better? Thoughtful Travel is a series on the ways people behave while away, from ethics to etiquette and more."Coming out of Covid, we saw an increased concentration in people wanting to go to just the top-10 destinations in Japan," said head of sustainability Rob Moran. "Previously more people were letting us help in their planning – it was a change to see so many people coming to us with fixed ideas."It made sense that tourists would focus on iconic spots after the grief and life-changing experiences of the global pandemic. The question was: how to weave these highlights into itineraries that also help preserve local culture and assist rural regeneration.Rather than simply removing popular spots from promotion, InsideJapan has developed a data-driven "undertourism" strategy with tourist boards and local communities to showcase under-visited regions. Their aim is to highlight places outside the five most-visited prefectures that have the capacity, infrastructure and ability to take more tourists.AlamyHigh in Toyama's mountains, the Kurobe Gorge Railway is a world away from Japan's tourist crowds (Credit: Alamy)Now, a typical itinerary might may include the likes of the Toyama region, whose traditional crafts, emerald rivers and snowy peaks offer a magical Japanese experience, alongside recognisable spots like Kyoto, Tokyo and Osaka."You don't have to go to Toyama for two weeks if you don't want to," said Moran. "It's about making small but meaningful changes to a trip – it makes a bigger impact overall."Mystery touring in the FaroesWhile the Faroe Islands has not suffered the same levels of overtourism as Spain and Italy, the archipelago is trying to shape tourism before it gets to that point. Enter the Self-Navigating Car – a new hire car offering that follows a mystery route around the islands."The focus is to spread guests away from the usual places," says Súsanna Sorensen, head of marketing and PR at Visit Faroe Islands. "We're also tapping into the decision-free holiday trend." More like this:? Why 'best time to visit' no longer applies? The new tourist fines sweeping Europe? Can Europe beat the overtourism crisis?With its jagged mountains, sheep-filled roads and cliffs lined with seabirds, the 18-island archipelago has a wealth of natural wonders, but has increasingly seen tourists visiting the same hotspots, thanks to social media trends and algorithms. Instead of following the crowds, the initiative encourages people to embrace the unknown.AlamyThe Faroe Islands have a wealth of natural wonders for travellers to explore (Credit: Alamy)In line with the mystery travel trend that has been bubbling away over the last few years, each route is curated by locals and pre-packaged. By removing the choice of where to go, the initiative encourages visitors to discover new sights beyond the handful of well-known waterfalls and trails. It's all forcing a broader interpretation of what a trip to the Faroe Islands can look like – and, as with all these initiatives, a reckoning with what a bucket list can be.A different kind of list "Tourism has lost its depth, and overtourism is the symptom of that," says Santopietro. "We collect photos instead of memories. We move through places without truly hearing them. And in doing so, we lose on both sides. Places lose their authenticity and travellers lose the chance for a real connection. That's why we believe it's time to change not just where we travel, but how we look at places."Maybe it's time we all looked at our own bucket lists, too.--If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week. For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Thoughtful TravelNatural WondersCityEco-tourismFeatures
