Text by Jonathan B. Tourtellot
Photograph by Grant Dixon/Lonely Planet Images
Tiny Kallur lighthouse rests high on the island of Kalsoy, one of the Faroe Islands
The world's most appealing destinations—islands—are the ones most prone to tourism overkill. Our 522 experts vote on which ones avoid the danger, which are succumbing to it, and which hang in the balance.
Tourism is a phenomenon that can cook your food or burn your house down. In other words, we all risk destroying the very places that we love the most.
Nowhere more so than on islands. Islands symbolize vacation. Escape! Their very insularity makes them more attractive than a comparable piece of real estate on the mainland. They are worlds unto themselves—their own traditions, ecosystems, cultures, landscapes. That's what attracts us. But as micro-worlds, islands are also more vulnerable to population pressure, climate change, storm damage, invasive species, and now, tourism overkill.
To see how the integrity of islands around the world is holding up, Traveler and our National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations conducted this fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey, aided by George Washington University. A panel of 522 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship donated time to review conditions in these 111 selected islands and archipelagos. The scores that follow reflect the experts' opinions. Quoted phrases from their remarks suggest the thinking behind the scores.
The results show that beach-blessed islands draw sun-and-sand resort tourism development that can get out of hand quickly, although there are exceptions. Multiple cruise-ship crowds can also overwhelm an island, transforming it.
No surprise, then, that cloudy, beach-poor islands score well. Yet even these cooler islands are sometimes losing traditional families to soaring real estate prices.
All the islands that follow, even the lowest scoring, have great experiences to discover. To protect them, to restore them, we must value them as much as resort developers and cruise companies do. Even more.
Guide to the Scores:
0-25: Catastrophic: all criteria very negative, outlook grim.
26-49: In serious trouble.
50-65: In moderate trouble: all criteria medium-negative or a mix of negatives and positives.
66-85: Minor difficulties.
86-95: Authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so.
96-100: Enhanced.
About the Survey
This survey rates the qualities that make a destination unique—"integrity of place." It's not about consumer service, so a poor but unspoiled island like Palawan can rate higher than a Hilton Head, called "the best golf-course-and-gated-community island anywhere."
We selected mainly small and medium-size islands and groups, allowing a few larger exceptions with relatively unified character, such as Iceland and Tasmania. Since evaluating an entire destination involves such unquantifiables as aesthetics and cultural integrity, we decided the best measure is informed human judgment: a panel of 522 well-traveled experts in a variety of fields—ecology, sustainable tourism, geography, travel writing and photography, site management, historic preservation, indigenous cultures, archaeology.
We asked panelists to evaluate just the islands with which they were familiar, using six criteria weighted according to importance:
• Environmental and ecological quality
• Social and cultural integrity
• Condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites
• Aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management
• Outlook for the future
Experts first posted points of view on each destination—anonymously, to ensure objectivity. After reading each others' remarks—a variation of a research tool called the Delphi technique—panelists filed their final stewardship scores. For a list of panelists, click here.
The resulting Stewardship Index rating is an average of informed judgments about each place as a whole—all its many faces. Like the scores posted by Olympic judges, our experts' ratings reflect both measurable factors and the intangibles of style, aesthetics, and culture. And like an athlete, each island has
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The list, by score
87 Faroe Islands, Denmark
84 Azores, Portugal
82 Lofoten, Norway
82 Shetland Islands, Scotland
82 Chiloé, Chile
81 Isle of Skye, Scotland
80 Kangaroo Island, South Australia
80 Mackinac Island, Michigan
80 Iceland
79 Molokai, Hawaii
78 Aran Islands, Ireland
78 Texel, Netherlands
77 Dominica
77 Grenadines
76 Tasmania
76 Bora Bora, French Polynesia
76 Fraser Island, Australia
76 Bornholm, Denmark
76 Hydra (Ídra), Greece
76 Falkland Islands (U.K.)
75 Corsica, France
75 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
74 Vanuatu, Melanesia
74 Santa Catalina Island, California
73 Upolu and Savai'i, Samoa
73 Isle of Man (U.K.)
72 Palawan, Philippines
72 Moorea, French Polynesia
72 Block Island, Rhode Island
71 Ilha Grande, Brazil
71 Sardinia, Italy
71 Hvar, Croatia
71 Jersey and Guernsey (U.K.)
70 San Juan Islands, Washington State
70 St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
70 Seychelles
70 Anguilla (U.K.)
70 Nevis
69 Palau, Micronesia
69 Cook Islands
69 Prince Edward Island, Canada
69 Salt Spring Island, Gulf Islands, British Columbia
69 Mount Desert Island, Maine
69 Réunion (France)
68 Bonaire
68 Sicily, Italy
68 St. Vincent
68 Yasawa group, Fiji
67 Pemba, Tanzania
67 Hawaii (Big Island)
66 Out Islands, Bahamas
66 Bermuda, North Atlantic
66 Tobago
66 São Tomé and Príncipe
65 Cyprus, Turkish side
65 Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique
65 Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
64 Solomon Islands
64 Jeju/Cheju, South Korea
64 Ocracoke, Outer Banks, North Carolina
64 Kauai, Hawaii
64 St. Lucia
63 Nantucket, Massachusetts
62 Martinique (France)
62 Corfu, Greece
62 Crete, Greece
62 Lombok, Indonesia
62 Barbados
61 Tonga, Polynesia
61 Madeira Islands, Portugal
61 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
61 Islands of Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia
61 Sanibel, Florida
61 Santorini, Greece
61 Maldives (except Malé)
59 Grenada
59 Capri, Italy
59 Tahiti, French Polynesia
59 St. Kitts
58 Viti Levu, Fiji
57 Maui, Hawaii
57 Bali, Indonesia
57 Cape Verde Islands
57 Curaçao
55 Isla Mujeres, Mexico
55 Malta (all islands)
55 Guadeloupe
55 Mauritius
54 Mykonos, Greece
54 Federated States of Micronesia
54 Mallorca, Spain
53 St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
53 Zanzibar, Tanzania
52 Canary Islands, Spain
51 Puerto Rico
51 Cyprus, Greek side
50 Antigua
49 Hatteras Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina
48 Aruba (Netherlands)
47 Grand Cayman
47 Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras
47 St. Martin (Netherlands/France)
47 Cozumel, Mexico
46 Oahu, Hawaii
46 Key West, Florida
46 Phuket, Thailand
45 Hilton Head, South Carolina
44 Jamaica
44 Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
37 Ibiza, Spain
37 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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URL: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/trave ... ope.html#2
Azores, Portugal
Score: 84
"Not a beach destination or otherwise susceptible to mass tourism; indeed, its capricious climate probably impedes the flow of tourists. The islands' green volcanic mountains and picturesque black-and-white towns look set to remain unspoiled."
"Wonderful place. Built environment in good shape. Locals are very sophisticated as most have lived overseas."
"Remote and temperate, the Azores remain lightly touristed. Main visitor type is the independent traveler staying in B&Bs. The ecosystem—from the beautiful hydrangea-covered hills of Flores to the rock-bottomed bays of Terceira—is in great shape. Whales still a frequent sight. Local culture strong and vibrant. Not uncommon to be invited to a person's house for dinner, or welcomed into a communal meal during a festival."
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URL: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/trave ... pe.html#70
Madeira Islands, Portugal
Score: 61
"Despite a reputation for high-quality tourism, beautiful and diverse gardens, and walking in beautiful scenery, Madeira has suffered from mass-market hotel development spreading out from Funchal."
"Most of this Atlantic treasure seems relatively undisturbed by the tourism influx that has eaten up the coastline surrounding the capital city of Funchal."
"My favorite, full of flowers and pure nature. Wandering along the old water canals is fascinating. The nature is marvelous and very special. Religious events and churches invite visitors. Local market area is attractive, and fado music charms me. The negative features are high hotels that do not fit into the landscape and are too dominant in a townscape."