The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) announced 52 rural villages worldwide as the Best Tourism Villages for 2025. This milestone celebrates destinations that combine tourism, culture, and sustainability to strong effect. Travellers seeking authentic experiences can now look to these villages that preserve heritage, engage local communities and promote responsible travel.
Rural destinations often face infrastructure and economic challenges. With this recognition, these villages gain visibility and support that help them thrive while keeping their unique character intact.
What the Initiative Stands For
The Best Tourism Villages initiative began in 2021. It aims to highlight villages that excel in cultural preservation, economic inclusion, social sustainability and environmental management. Villages apply through their national tourism bodies and undergo a rigorous evaluation across many criteria.
These criteria include cultural and natural resources, economic sustainability, social sustainability, environmental practices, tourism development, governance and health-safety standards. The framework ensures that selected villages not only welcome visitors but also protect their identity and environment.
By recognising villages that make tourism a force for good, the initiative encourages travellers to explore less-visited places with real stories behind them.
Highlights from the 2025 List
The 2025 list includes a rich variety of villages from all continents — from alpine communities to desert oases, island escarpments to lush valleys. Each destination brings its own story: historic architecture, local food traditions, community-led conservation or artisan crafts.
In Italy, Arqua Petrarca charms visitors with its medieval streets and literary heritage. Japan’s Shodoshima impresses with olive groves and scenic sea views. Saudi Arabia’s AlUla opens a window into desert archaeology. Switzerland’s Gimmelwald offers car-free slopes and sustainable mountain living. Peru’s Machu Picchu Pueblo blends Andean culture with scenic adventure.
Each of these villages demonstrates how small-scale destinations can deliver rich, meaningful travel experiences — and do so responsibly.
Why This Recognition Matters
This recognition matters both to tourists and to rural communities. For travellers, it offers fresh alternatives to crowded cities and mainstream resorts. Visiting a recognized village lets you engage more deeply—meet locals, understand traditions, and support community-based tourism.
For villages, the recognition brings more than prestige. It draws attention that can help improve infrastructure, support local businesses, and manage visitor numbers wisely. By joining the global network of Best Tourism Villages, communities gain access to knowledge sharing, capacity building and sustainable tourism models.
In a broader sense, this initiative advances rural development goals. It supports job creation, helps keep young people in their communities and helps preserve landscapes and cultures that might otherwise fade away.
How Travellers Can Make a Difference
When visiting one of these villages, you can make your trip more meaningful and sustainable. Choose locally-owned guesthouses, eat in community-run restaurants and purchase handcrafted goods from local artisans. Respect local customs, minimise waste and favour eco-friendly tours.
Engage with the community. Ask locals about traditions, participate in crafts or farm experiences, and listen to stories that go beyond the typical tourist path. Travel more slowly. Stay longer, explore deeper and let the place reveal itself rather than rushing on to the next stop.
By supporting villages recognised under this programme, you help tourism work for community and nature alike.
Looking Ahead: Sustainable Travel’s Next Frontier
The announcement of the 2025 list underscores a shift in global tourism trends. Travellers increasingly value meaning over mileage, community over crowds and authenticity over glitter. With strong recognition of rural destinations, the future of travel looks more diversified and responsible.
Destinations that once remained off the beaten path are now stepping into the spotlight. The sustainable practices showcased by these villages become models for other destinations to follow. The initiative also points to a broader shift: travel that supports ecosystem and community well-being rather than just mass visitation.
As interest in rural and nature-based travel grows, more destinations will adopt similar approaches and travellers will seek deeper connections. The tourism industry, in turn, is beginning to view remote villages not as sideline stops but as key players in future travel.
Visitors Are Invited Beyond the Usual Routes
For people planning their next trip, the Best Tourism Villages list offers exciting new options. Whether you’re drawn to a quiet alpine village in Switzerland, a desert settlement in Saudi Arabia, an island community in Japan or a hillside village in Peru, you’ll find stories waiting to be discovered.
Choose villages that match your interests—heritage, nature, crafts, food or active travel. Stay longer than a quick stop. Walk the trails, attend a local event, talk with storytellers, try traditional dishes and enjoy the authenticity of passionate hosts.
This approach turns travel into more than a change of scenery—it becomes a way to understand the world, support communities and leave a positive impact.
Conclusion: The Power of Meaningful Travel
The recognition of 52 villages worldwide as Best Tourism Villages for 2025 shows how tourism can become more meaningful and sustainable. It highlights places that lead with community, culture and environment—not just visitor numbers.
As a traveller, you stand to gain deeper experiences; as a visitor, you help a village thrive. From cobbled streets to remote coastlines, each recognized village invites you to explore differently—slowly, deliberately and respectfully.
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