The Azores heads the list of the world’s “most underrated destinations” in a poll by top travel industry executives at a recent global trade show. The Atlantic islands, located 1,370 km from the Portuguese mainland, edged Northern Greece, scoring top marks in the survey with 14.5% of the vote.
An autonomous region of Portugal, the archipelago is growing in popularity thanks to its laid-back lifestyle, natural beauty including volcanoes and national parks, as well as wildlife such as whale and dolphin watching.
Last summer, the number of passengers arriving in the Azores hit its highest level in five years, with 252,483 passengers landing at the region’s airports.
Greece also had a good year, seeing a big resurgence in visitors during summer 2022.
The top-10 most underrated destinations according to the survey are:
Azores (14.5%)
Northern Greece (14%)
Bulgaria (10%)
Scotland (10%)
Estonia (9.5%)
Netherlands (9%)
Sicily (9%)
Slovenia (9%)
Wales (8%)
Bratislava (7%)
Although Northern Greece is less-visited than the south of the mainland and the ever-popular Greek islands, it has much to offer.
Mount Olympus, the country’s highest mountain has long been a mythical place, where the Gods of Ancient Greece were said to reside. Litochoro, known as the City of the Gods, is about 100 km. away from Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city.
The Halkidiki Peninsula is a stunning part of Greece, with its ‘three fingers,’ which extend from the mainland out into the Aegean Sea, while Northern Greece as a whole is rich with heavy influences found throughout from its Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman past.
World Travel Market London Exhibition Director, Juliette Losardo, said:“The Azores, with its natural beauty and commitment to sustainability, and Northern Greece, with some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes and historical settings, rightly take their places at the top of the list of the most underrated destinations in the world.”
Also rating highly in the survey were Scotland and Wales – two destinations packed with a wide range of attractions, natural resources, history, folklore, castles, national parks as well as buzzing major cities such as Cardiff, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
Scotland and Wales were also in the world’s spotlight in 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The monarch died on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, and people across the world were given an insight into the area, including the warmth of the residents of nearby villages Crathie and Ballater, who shared their fond memories of the Royal Family.
When the Queen’s coffin left Balmoral on its epic six-hour journey to Edinburgh, images were beamed around the world of spectacular views of the nation’s countryside that has inspired writers such as Robert Burns and Ian Rankin, and which attracted 150 million visits to Scotland in 2019.
Wales was also put in the spotlight when King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla visited as part of a tour of the UK nations in the days following Queen Elizabeth II’s death.