Bloggers and influencers who popularized Southeast Asia’s jungles and cities a few years ago by visiting Thailand and the communist states of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos are now venturing to the lesser-traveled Oman, Saudi Arabia, Albania, Montenegro, Colombia, and Rwanda.
There has always been a demand for travel content beyond typical tourist spots among seekers of authentic, off-the-beaten-path destinations.
Fortunately, there’s still intrigue left in the world. However, Saudi Arabia’s (and a few like Myanmar’s) human rights violations keep some from finding it. Red tourism is a thing in China, but organized tours and hordes of backpackers to the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Laos’ Luang Prabang threaten their status due to environmental concerns.
Others are “slow traveling,” venturing deeper into the outskirts of city life to experience the essence of the place. The footloose and fancy-free are applying for extended visas to work as digital nomads in lesser-known countries still desperate to attract tourists.
