WORLD STUDENTS WONDER : TOURISM TRAPEZE

 

ZIHUATANEJO - MÉXICO

The Times Travel desk's annual list of destinations looks this year at spots where visitors can be part of the solution to overtourism and climate change.

1.-  CHIOGGIA -ITALY 

Near Venice, an ancient town offers history, architecture and more, and creates an escape valve for overtourism.

Built on a cluster of islands in the Venetian lagoon, with centuries old-buildings rising from the canals in all their decadent glory, Chioggia is called ''piccola Venezia,'' or little Venice. Locals disagree : 

If anything, they say, it's a nearby Venice that should be described as Chiggia's larger doppelganger, and it's true, Chioggia is older. Venice is so worried about being overwhelmed once again after the pandemic that it is planning to resort to surveillance cameras and cellphone data to control the crowds; visiting other culturally rich places like Chiggia can relieve the pressure.

Today, Chioggia can help relieve the pressure. Today, Chiggia is popular with Italian and German visitors, drawn both by the architectural beauties in the historic center and the family-friendly beaches of its mainland suburb, Sctomarina.

The city can serve as an ideal base for bicycle tours.

2.-  CHIMANIMANI NATIONAL PARK - MOZAMBIQUE

A new park in a struggling country offers ancient rock paintings and a refuge for local species.

Even at a time when many of the world's countries were under extreme duress, the case of Mozambique was severe enough to catch the attention of the United Nations:

In March, Secretary General Antonio Guterres called upon the international community to help the African country as it  faced the triple threat of climate change, Covid and conflict.

It's not the first time that Mozambique has faced such crisis; its civil war of more than 15 years resulted in a million lives lost and a huge loss for its wildlife, too. But the country has showed its resilience.

In 2008, the Gorongosa National Park started a vast program to repopulate a reserve decimated by poaching, accompanied by grass-roots efforts like training local women as game wardens.

In May, another national park was unveiled; Chimanimani, along the border with Zimbabwe. The park has ancient rock paintings; secluded sacred mountains, including the country's highest peak, Mount Binga; and natural habitats for plants, birds and wildlife like the southern-ground hornbill, miniature squeaker frog and Agama kirkii lizard. [ Ondine Cohane. ]

 3.- QUEENS - NEW YORK.

The world a la carte and available at the price of a subway ride.

Queens wants you to show up hungry. ''There's probably nowhere else in the world where you can sample the home cooking of more than 150 different countries within such a compact space,'' said the restaurant critic Robert Sietsma, who covers the borough's restaurants for Eater.com

And at a time when longhaul travel is still uncertain, a dim-sum lunch at Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao in Flushing is as quick and delicious a ticket to China as nostril-clearing shrimp aguachile at the new Mariscos EI Submarino in Jackson Heights is a trip to Mexico. [ Alexander Lobrano ]

4.-  NORTHUMBERLAND - ENGLAND

Dark skies, pristine beaches and a 1,900th anniversary on a coastline with newly opened trails.

England's diverse coastline, from the cliffs of Dover in the boardwalks of Brighton, will soon have a unifying element : the 2,800-mile England coast Path. Developed in part by the governmental organization Natural England, the path aims to increase public access to the coast while restoring landscapes and promoting sustainable travel.

Trail segments that have opened include a 44-mile stretch in the northeast, from the River Tyne to the Northumberland coast, which is the epitome of rugged England : many dunes, rocky headlands, wild beaches.

At night, look up. The Northumberland International Dark Sky Park has some of the lowest light pollution in the country and features one of the largest areas of protected night sky in Europe.

Gaze at galaxies sprayed across the sky at Kielder Observatory, and then venture to the ancient past as Hadrian's Wall is celebrating its 1,900th anniversary with a year long festival. [ Annelise Sorensen ].

5.- ZIHUATANEJO - MÉXICO

Grass-roots conservation protects marine wildlife and revives a local village. 

This laid-back beach town - neighbor of Ixtapa, the resort destination on Pacific Coast - and communities around it have spawned grass-roots environmental projects that travelers can support.

The nonprofit Whales of Guerrero has helped train fishermen as whale-watching guides, and Campamento Tortuguero Ayoticalli offers opportunities to join turtle nest patrols and release hatchlings.

The guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabrilea Qunitero, are involved with local vegan initiatives; Mr. Sanchez runs his pwn plant-based restaurant, La Raiz de la Tierra.

Check into Playa Viva, 30 miles south. The solar-powered regenerative resort recently joined a new regional project to protect the watershed of the Juluchuca River, which begins in the mountainous interior where guests can take A.T.V. excursions to explore the headwater at an off-grid coffee and cacao plantation.

[Elaine Glusac]

6.- IBERA PARK -ARGENTINA

Rewilding two million acres of grassland and wetlands offers a home to dozens of endangered species.

Twenty years ago, this reserve in Argentina's Corrientes region wasn't so much a park as it was tiny parcels of wilderness surrounded by cattle ranches. That's when the Rewilding Argentina foundation, created by the North Face co-founder Douglas Tompkins and now funded by tourism and a consortium of philanthropists around the world, stepped in and began buying land.

Today, Ibera Park is one of the largest in Argentina, close to two million acres of protected grasslands, lagoons, islands and wetlands - and a sanctuary for huge populations of animals.

The foundation has saved dozens of species from extinction here, notably jaguars, giant anteaters and giant river otters, and has become a refuge for marsh deer, maned wolves, rheas, grassland birds and the aptly named - and endangered -strange-tailed tyrants. [ Danielle Pergament ]

The Publishing continues. The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.