Hazel McGuire, Intrepid’s UK and Ireland general manager, said: “The Not Hot List is our take on the listicles, 10 best places to go and ‘where to next?’ culture.
“We really want to shine our light on places that are under-represented, and we want to look at places where communities really want to welcome tourists.”
The issue of overtourism, said McGuire, had been "brought to the fore” in recent times. “Dispersal of the tourism dollar is something we should all be looking to achieve," she said.
McGuire added Intrepid did not expect a wholesale shift in buying patterns. “We have something like 750 tours around the world, and there are absolutely tours that are more appropriate for the first-time traveller.
“The Not Hot List is definitely for the more adventurous traveller who has almost reached the end of the traditional bucket list. There’s not a common theme, but it’s something new, interesting and exciting.”
Intrepid has launched new trips in four of the Not Hot locations featured. They include a 10-day Greenland Expedition, a land itinerary in a country where most visitors arrive via cruise ships.
There is also a 15-day Benin, Togo and Ghana Adventure, taking travellers to rarely visited spots like Teshie-Nungua in Ghana, where artisans craft elaborate art coffins.
Also new is an 11-day Trans-Mongolian Railway Adventure, which stops in remote villages along the Gobi Desert, and an 11-day Cape York and Torres Strait Explorer journey to the northernmost tip of Australia.
Here is the list in full.
