Faroe Islands Launch Self-Guided Car Tours for Tourists
The remote North Atlantic archipelago of the Faroe Islands has updated its advertising with the help of sheep — lots and lots of sheep. As global tourism recovers, the islands, with their steep landscapes, craggy cliffs and hermetic villages, have introduced a new self-guided car rental offering, designed to ease the strain of overtourism and highlight lesser known parts of the islands. Under the project, known as Auto Odyssey: Self-Navigating Car Adventures, tourists will hire cars fitted with state-of-the-art navigation systems and follow one of 30 recommended drives at their leisure.
The initiative is part of the Faroe Islands’ stepping-up campaign tackling the escalating problem of overtourism, which sees a large percentage of tourists descending on a handful of popular tourist destinations. It’s very apt: A study from McKinsey & Co. from 2024 found that 80% of international tourists go to just 10% of the world’s sights, which can overwhelm some destinations and hurt both the env’t and local residents. In response the Visit Faroe Islands tourism board is now trying to show travellers to quieter, less visited areas, which often play second fiddle to must see hotspots.
