The world’s most compelling yet overlooked destinations

What if kids had the opportunity to ditch the guidebooks and suggest their own trips to some of the world’s most interesting places? 

Everyone knows about Big Ben, Red Square and the beaches of Rio – but the world’s high school students have another take on travel entirely.  Some students, through a worldwide program called the Global Travel & Tourism Partnership, have researched their own list of top travel ideas in their home countries.  Centered on a theme of historic preservation, these destinations are a far cry from Blarney Castle or the Kremlin and include:         

§         South Africa – Matjiesfontein, a tiny restored railway village that is now emerging as a tourist destination long after the decline of the diamond rush – otherwise known as “The Jewel of the Karoo”

§         Hungary – The village of Sitke, a forgotten historical site, now being saved by an annual rock concert

§         Russia – A little-known estate outside Moscow called Vorontsovo, once devastated by the Bolsheviks but now coming back to life thanks to dedicated preservation efforts linked to estates throughout the Russian countryside

§         Brazil – The town of Santana de Parnaiba, one of the largest historic architectural sites in the country with critical importance to the early years of Brazilian colonization

§         Ireland – Ducketts Grove Castle, a hidden historic gem with one of the greatest gateways in Ireland, which also served as a hiding place for nationalists during the Troubles

Students developed these suggestions through the Global Travel and Tourism Partnership (GTTP), a non-profit organization that gives secondary school students from around the world the chance gain new insights by learning about travel and tourism.  GTTP students complete in-depth research projects that challenge them to critically examine their homeland’s attributes and drawbacks for tourism, pose creative questions and engage with local culture and history.  The GTTP has educated nearly one million students worldwide to date.