Un Tourism Recognises 52 Villages Across Asia, Europe, Africa, The Americas And The Middle East As Best Tourism Villages For 2025

Published on October 30, 2025

The twelvemonth 2025 has brought renewed nickname to nan bosom of agrarian tourism, arsenic UN Tourism unveiled its charismatic database of 52 villages worldwide that person been honoured arsenic nan Best Tourism Villages of nan year. This world nickname intends to spotlight destinations that sphere their cultural heritage, foster sustainable tourism, and beforehand inclusive economical development for section communities. From Asia to Europe, Africa, the Americas, and nan Middle East, these villages bespeak a shared imagination of recreation that celebrates authenticity, sustainability, and organization well-being. Far from nan bustling gait of modern cities, these destinations connection travellers nan chance to immerse themselves successful traditions, landscapes, and quality stories that specify nan psyche of agrarian life. As UN Tourism continues to promote responsible exploration done its Tourism for Rural Development programme, these villages guidelines arsenic surviving examples of really recreation tin service arsenic a span betwixt taste preservation and modern progress, offering a meaningful replacement for those seeking to acquisition nan world beyond accepted tourer trails.

Celebrating nan Spirit of Rural Tourism

Rural destinations often embody nan astir authentic expressions of a region’s identity, carrying hundreds of years of tradition, craftsmanship, and natural beauty. Despite their taste richness, galore specified communities stay under-explored by travellers. The 2025 version of nan Best Tourism Villages inaugural seeks to toggle shape that by recognising villages that are not only picturesque but besides committed to sustainability and organization empowerment.

These selected villages correspond overmuch much than recreation destinations—they are models of really tourism tin heighten section livelihoods while conserving what makes each organization unique. Visitors who take to research these areas are encouraged to prosecute pinch residents, study accepted practices, and admit really small-scale tourism tin lend to world taste diversity.

About nan Best Tourism Villages Initiative

The Best Tourism Villages inaugural was launched successful 2021 by UN Tourism (previously known arsenic nan UN World Tourism Organisation) arsenic portion of its Tourism for Rural Development programme. Its superior extremity is to place and honour agrarian communities that successfully merge tourism pinch practice conservation, sustainable development, and societal inclusion.

Each year, participating countries nominate villages that meet nan organisation’s rigorous action criteria. In 2025, much than 270 applications were submitted by 65 personnel states, showcasing a wide array of landscapes, cultures, and community-driven tourism models. After a thorough evaluation, 52 villages were officially recognised, spanning each continent and reflecting a world activity toward responsible travel.

Criteria for Selection

To gain nan prestigious recognition, each colony was assessed crossed aggregate dimensions that bespeak UN Tourism’s halfway values. The information included:

• Cultural and Natural Resources: Protection and promotion of section traditions, architecture, and landscapes.
• Conservation of Cultural Heritage: Preservation of intangible practice specified arsenic crafts, rituals, and folklore.
• Economic Sustainability: Creation of viable income opportunities for section residents done tourism.
• Social Sustainability: Promotion of inclusivity and adjacent information of each organization members.
• Environmental Sustainability: Implementation of eco-friendly tourism practices to protect earthy ecosystems.
• Tourism Development and Value Chain Integration: Effective usage of tourism to fortify related sectors for illustration agriculture, handicrafts, and gastronomy.
• Governance and Tourism Prioritisation: Local activity and argumentation frameworks that support sustainable tourism.
• Infrastructure and Connectivity: Accessibility, safety, and value infrastructure for travellers.
• Health, Safety, and Security: Ensuring visitant and resident well-being arsenic a cardinal constituent of development.

This elaborate model ensures that nan nickname is much than symbolic—it represents genuine advancement successful achieving balanced tourism models that respect some group and nan planet.

Arqua Petrarca, Italy: A Model for Heritage and Harmony

Among this year’s honoured destinations is Arqua Petrarca, located successful Italy, a colony that exemplifies nan halfway tone of nan programme. Known for its medieval charm and relation pinch nan writer Francesco Petrarca, nan colony preserves its ancient streets and architecture while welcoming visitors to research its taste heritage. Arqua Petrarca serves arsenic an illustration of really humanities preservation and modern tourism tin coexist harmoniously erstwhile guided by organization information and thoughtful governance.

A Global Network of Sustainable Destinations

Beyond individual recognition, nan Best Tourism Villages inaugural besides fosters collaboration done its Upgrade Programme and nan Best Tourism Villages Network. Villages that show imaginable but do not yet meet each criteria person support nether nan Upgrade Programme, allowing them to amended and yet execute afloat recognition.

The Best Tourism Villages Network now includes 319 destinations crossed nan world, forming a collaborative level for knowledge exchange, champion practices, and shared learning. This web empowers agrarian communities to study from each other’s experiences successful promoting sustainable tourism, improving infrastructure, and fostering inclusive growth.

Through regular workshops, taste exchanges, and argumentation discussions, this web acts arsenic a corporate sound for agrarian tourism connected nan world stage. The inclusion of these caller 52 villages strengthens nan network’s diverseness and expands its power crossed different continents, from Asia’s atom terraces to Europe’s countryside, Africa’s upland settlements, the Americas’ indigenous communities, and the Middle East’s heritage-rich oases.

Tourism arsenic a Catalyst for Sustainable Development

The nickname of these villages aligns pinch nan UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to poorness reduction, biology protection, and taste preservation. By celebrating section initiatives that harvester practice pinch innovation, UN Tourism highlights nan basal domiciled agrarian areas play successful shaping nan early of world travel.

For travellers, these destinations coming opportunities to lend meaningfully to section economies while experiencing cultures that stay rooted successful authenticity. For policymakers and tourism boards, they service arsenic examples of really sustainable tourism tin thrust agrarian revitalisation, promote entrepreneurship, and fortify organization bonds.

Why These Villages Matter successful Modern Tourism

In an era erstwhile recreation often gravitates toward crowded cities and edifice hubs, nan nickname of small, community-led destinations offers a refreshing shift. Travellers coming progressively activity deeper connections pinch nan places they visit—through section cuisine, taste storytelling, accepted arts, and environmentally responsible experiences.

These Best Tourism Villages of 2025 embody this evolving trend. Their occurrence underscores really responsible tourism tin heighten section pride, sphere ecosystems, and create a much balanced world tourism scenery that benefits some visitors and residents.

The 2025 database of Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism celebrates not only nan beauty of agrarian destinations but besides their resilience and innovation. Each recognised village—from Arqua Petrarca successful Italy to nan galore communities crossed Asia, Africa, the Americas, and nan Middle East—represents a surviving testament to nan powerfulness of tourism erstwhile guided by sustainability and organization values. As travellers progressively look for meaningful, responsible ways to research nan world, these villages induce them to rediscover travel’s existent essence: connection, learning, and shared humanity.