Bosnia, not Benidorm? UK tourists branch out to avoid crowds and save cash

It will take more than a TikTok trend to break Britons' love affair with the white gold sands of the Mediterranean. But new figures show that travellers are increasingly swapping Malaga for Macedonia and Benidorm for the Balkans as part of a social media craze for "destination dupes".

- Josh Halliday Olivia Lee

Flights from the UK to Bosnia and Herzegovina soared by 284% in 2024 compared with the previous year, while trips to Montenegro increased by 164%. Getaways to Albania - billed by some as "the new Croatia" - rose by 61%, according to an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.

Experts say the appetite for lesser-known destinations is being driven by influencers promoting holiday "dupes" - locations that offer Instagram-friendly scenery for a smaller budget.

The travel blogger Tara Tadlock, who has nearly 15,000 followers on Instagram (@wheretarawent), said the trend was inspired by a post-Covid burst of adventure as well as the cost of living crisis.

"In the summer months accommodation prices spike... some restaurants will change their menus and charge extra," she said. "The cost of living is a huge driver. I also think people are looking to get away from the crowds because there's so many places now that are so congested."

The CAA data, analysed by Manchester Airport Group, also show that flights to Azerbaijan had more than doubled between 2023 and 2024. Four African countries - Tunisia, Rwanda, Morocco and Ghana - also made the top 10 largest increases in flights over the same period.

On TikTok, influencers with tens of thousands of followers promote trips to the slopes of Bansko, Bulgaria, instead of the costly French Alps, or a city break in the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, over-crowded Athens and Budapest.

The term "destination dupes" was first coined by the travel firm Expedia in 2023. Experts spotted that influencers were sharing "duplicate destinations" in a similar way to imitations of designer clothing, another TikTok trend.