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Clever heatmap helps you avoid other tourists

Clever heatmap of the world helps you avoid other tourists
Clever heatmap of the world helps you avoid other tourists

Ahti Heinla


Wouldn't holidays be great if we didn't have to share them with pesky tourists?

Research shows that while we're more than happy to play the sightseer ourselves, other tourists are the thing we most want to avoid on holiday.

Ahti Heinla, an Estonian programmer, feels exactly the same way - which is why he created this heat map to chart the world's most - and least - touristy places

Using the photo-sharing service Panaramio, his heatmap shows the places most popular among tourists - or at least, where they are tagging their photos.

The yellow bits indicate touristy hotspots - so that's the whole of Europe, then. Red and dark purple areas show medium touristy bits, and the blue indicates low tourist numbers, and the areas with no photos on Panaramio are grey.

So if you want to escape the crowds, head for central Africa and Northern Canada. Hmmm...



Ahti also developed the Remote Places map (above) which shows places with few visitors but where visitors take a lot of photos. He told AOL Travel: This map shows places that see few visitors, but where visitors take lots of photos. I used the Argentinean Altiplano as a benchmark, because it is stunning but has close to zero tourist due to difficult access. I love travel, but hate crowds of tourists - that's why I created these maps!"

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