Holiday hotspot pushes back after being listed as a destination to avoid in 2025

A respected travel guide's list of 15 destinations to avoid in 2025 has seen some blow back from one of the hotspots mentioned.Fodor's publishes an annual 'No List' of destinations to highlight areas which are straining under the weight of tourism.It stresses that these hotspots are not to be boycotted as that sort of action "harms local economies and fails to bring about meaningful change".READ MORE: The truth about a holiday in the Northern Territory"But we do believe that the first step to alleviating a problem is recognising there is one. The No List serves to highlight destinations where tourism is placing unsustainable pressures on the land and local communities. And these stresses need to be addressed."The lists are split into two: perennial offenders, where destinations have been called out before but don't seem to improve, and areas which are starting to show strain.At top of the perennial list is Bali which Fodor's said is struggling to cope with a post-pandemic tourism rush."While this influx has boosted the economy, it has also placed overwhelming pressure on Bali's infrastructure. Once-pristine beaches like Kuta and Seminyak are now buried under piles of trash, with local waste management systems struggling to keep up."It was described by Gary Bencheghib, the co-founder of a local environmental group Sungai Watch, as a "plastic apocalypse".READ MORE: Catriona Rowntree loves this cruise activity - even though she has 'no idea' what she's doingBut the Bali Sun newspaper hit back saying that while "waste management crisis is no joke, Bali's beaches are not buried under tides of plastic waste 365 days a year"."Though much of the central south of the island, where the highest concentration of resorts can be found, is experiencing a range of issues, including traffic congestion, rapid tourism development, and waste management, there are many regions of Bali where authentic and genuinely meaningful travel experiences are ready and waiting to be explored."Indonesia's deputy tourism minister Ni Luh Enik Ermawati, known as Ni Luh Puspa, told local media: "What is currently happening on the island of Bali is not over tourism, but rather the uneven distribution of tourists because they are concentrated in the southern part of Bali."Meanwhile, the northern and western parts of Bali have many tourism potentials that are still unknown to tourists."However, the deputy chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association in Bali, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, said the Fodor's listing should act as a "warning": "We don't need to blame each other, but this is the bitter reality that we have to accept. Let's get back to being in the spirit to continue collaborating in terms of improving all factors that can lower Bali's image."READ MORE: Australia's most popular road trip has been revealed in new surveyIt's not the first time Bali has made the 'No List'. It was named in 2020 as well.Also listed in the perennial category were a host of European destinations where locals have hit back at tourism (Barcelona, Mallorca, Venice, the Canary Islands and Lisbon), as well as Koh Samui in Thailand and Mount Everest.Fodor's travel "No" list 2025Perennial no list:Bali, IndonesiaEuropean destinations where locals don't want you – Barcelona, Mallorca, Venice, the Canary Islands and LisbonKoh Samui, ThailandMount EverestDestinations beginning to suffer:Agrigento, Sicily, ItalyBritish Virgin IslandsKerala, IndiaKyoto and Tokyo, JapanOaxaca, MexicoScotland North Coast