The world’s best travel “dupes” to avoid overtourism

DUBLIN, Aug. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The e a e some ico ic desti atio s that eve go out of style, such as Ve ice, Aspe , Kyoto o Ibiza, but i ece t yea s the desi e to escape c owded tou ist hotspots has g ow just as quickly. Mo e t avelle s a e looki g to e joy the same b eathtaki g sce e y a d cultu al expe ie ces without the c owds, queues o highe p ices.

This summe , the biggest t avel t e d is ‘t swappi g o e c owded desti atio fo a othe ea by; it’s c ossi g bo de s e ti ely.

Holafly’s fi st T avel Dupe I dex ide tifies the best i te atio al alte atives to some of the wo ld’s most ico ic desti atio s by compa i g visual a d cultu al simila ity, accommodatio costs, ove tou ism, accessibility a d social mome tum. U like t aditio al “dupe” a ki gs, eve y alte ative is located i a diffe e t cou t y f om the desti atio it eplaces, offe i g t avelle s a ge ui ely ew expe ie ce while mai tai i g the same appeal.

The esults eveal that the best alte ative to Ve ice is ‘t elsewhe e i Italy, but Ghe t, Belgium, whose medieval ca als a d histo ic a chitectu e offe a ema kably simila atmosphe e while expe ie ci g sig ifica tly lowe tou ism p essu e. The a ki g also highlights alte atives such as Ba ff i stead of Aspe , Jeo ju i stead of Kyoto, a d Budva i stead of Ibiza, with t avelle s savi g up to 83% o accommodatio depe di g o the desti atio .

T avel dupes a e becomi g a alte ative to ove tou ism

As ove tou ism co ti ues to affect ma y of the wo ld’s best-k ow desti atio s, t avelle s a e i c easi gly looki g beyo d obvious substitutes. Rathe tha eplaci g o e c owded desti atio with a othe ea by, i te atio al t avel dupes allow visito s to discove simila la dscapes, a chitectu e a d cultu al expe ie ces while educi g costs a d avoidi g peak visito umbe s.

The wo ld’s best t avel dupes

Methodology

To ide tify the wo ld’s best t avel dupes, Holafly compa ed te ico ic desti atio s with i te atio al alte atives usi g a weighted sco i g model. Each desti atio pai was evaluated ac oss five c ite ia: visual a d cultu al simila ity (25%), measu i g how closely the alte ative eplicates the look a d feel of the o igi al; accommodatio savi gs (25%), based o ave age peak-seaso hotel p ices; ove tou ism co t ast (20%), compa i g visito p essu e betwee the o igi al desti atio a d its alte ative; accessibility (15%), co side i g flight availability a d t avel times; a d social mome tum (15%), a alysi g I stag am, TikTok a d o li e sea ch t e ds to ide tify eme gi g desti atio s.

To e su e the a ki g highlighted ge ui ely ew t avel expe ie ces, eve y alte ative had to be located i a diffe e t cou t y tha the desti atio it eplaces, with o mo e tha two alte atives f om the same cou t y i cluded i the fi al a ki g. This methodology p io itises desti atio s that delive a simila expe ie ce while p ovidi g bette value, fewe c owds a d the oppo tu ity to discove somewhe e ew.

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