It’s that time of year – to start planning our sustainable getaways

I think the key is to do your homework. If you see a destination on one of those lists that takes your fancy, spend a little time researching

There are plans to build an airport on Machu Picchu to cater to tourists (iStock)

It’s nearing the most wonderful time of the year – and already my inbox is being flooded with the “must-visit” bucket list travel destinations for 2020, well in advance of New Year’s Day.

Don’t get me wrong, these emails can definitely be helpful to travel writers struggling to discern the “hot new places” that will expand adventurous travellers’ holiday horizons for another year. But it’s worth informing yourself about the destinations in question – and what impact your visit might have on them – before blindly ticking your way down the list…

The very nature of selecting those “hot new places” can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. People like me say tourists should go there. Tourists go there. And before you know it, another beautiful, tranquil, under-the-radar destination is overwhelmed with visitor numbers it was never designed to cope with.