Liverpool for London, Paros for Santorini and Curaçao for St Martin. According to travel technology company Expedia, duped destinations are one of the biggest travel trends in 2024, with travelers avoiding popular destinations in favor of lesser-known, more budget-friendly options that offer similar experiences without the costs and the crowd.
Across the world, travel has seen a massive rebound post-pandemic. With passenger air traffic expected to reach nearly 95% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023, many destinations are now imposing some sort of tourist tax to address fears of overtourism.
Enter: destination duplications or duplicates. These lower-budget, less-traveled “sister” destinations are shared via social media and help lure travelers off the beaten path.
Lavina Dsouza, a designer based in Leeds, UK, began traveling to dupes long before the term was coined. “I was randomly looking for destinations similar to Bruges and ended up in Ghent. When I finally visited Bruges it was extremely crowded and I realized I ended up having a better time in Ghent” , she said.
Over the years, Dsouza has also visited Palawan in the Philippines (a dupe for the Maldives, according to Expedia) and Liverpool (a dupe for London, from the same list).
Janavi Iyer, a traveler from Vadodara, India, said the dupe trend continues to grow in popularity, revealing that while looking for a more affordable and less crowded beach vacation, she decided that Turkey’s Bodrum coast would be the ideal substitute for overly touristy St. Petersburg. Tropez. “We live in a time where there is no low season for traveling, so this is the best way to plan your vacation, because it combines affordability, authenticity and allows you to escape the crowds,” said she declared.
According to Expedia’s list, popular dupes around the world include Taipei instead of Seoul, Perth instead of Sydney, Pattaya instead of Bangkok, Palermo instead of Lisbon, Sapparo instead of Zermatt, Quebec instead of Geneva and Memphis instead of Nashville.