After the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic crisis linked to the war in Ukraine and with an increasingly marked ecological conscience, the French no longer want to consume as before. In terms of tourism too since the 2024 trend is taking them towards so-called “dupe” destinations. Historically, this term comes from the English word “duplicate” and spread on TikTok then Instagram and Snapchat, to designate products – clothing, accessories, perfumes or even cosmetics, which resemble another, in a cheap version. An imitation replacing the luxury version, but of identical quality. Applied to the travel sector, the “dupe destinations” are above all visually astonishing: the rocks of Kerlouan (Finistère) which wonderfully mimic the beaches of the Seychelles, the Sioule river (Puy-de-Dôme), which looks like a Amazonia or the splendid waterfalls of Tufs (Jura), compared to the waterfalls of Thailand. The idea is to rediscover France and its little-known gems to book an exotic vacation without having to take a plane.
Heading for Europe: new destinations
But the trend has evolved beyond our borders and the “tourist dupe” now expresses the propensity to explore a rarer, less frequented and therefore necessarily less expensive destination… According to the travel agency site Expedia, the French are in search for these affordable alternatives for 2024 and 48% of them are turning to less crowded places, while 40% are looking for the more unusual ones. Among the latter, let us cite in particular Liverpool, which will be preferred to London (+ 97% of reservations), Taipei rather than Seoul (+ 2,786%) or even Curaçao, “dupe” of Saint-Martin in the West Indies (+ 185%).
On the European side, this study reveals that travelers will turn to Krakow, Bergen and Istria, replacing Dalmatia. Building on this new trend, booking platforms do not hesitate to promote hotel rooms or plane tickets at very low prices.
For sustainable tourism
Far from the image of counterfeiting propagated by the original “dupe” label, these new aspirations make it possible to highlight cities or regions largely ignored by the majority of travelers and whose interest is often equal, or even greater. This spring, why not fly to Galway, located on the west coast of Ireland, which combines nature and historical monuments and whose authentic streets have enabled it to receive the label “creative city of cinema” from the Unesco. Little visited and keen to establish sustainable tourism, Slovenia concentrates urban walks in the charming capital Ljubljana, hikes in the Triglav natural park or the opportunity to ski in Kranjska Gora, a stone’s throw from Italy and Austria. Another vision of travel and a trend with many advantages, beneficial for both tourism stakeholders and globetrotters.