Official Travel and Tourism Offices

The official tourism offices of the countries you want to visit are a good place to start your online research once you begin thinking about your destinations.

Depending on technological capacity and the prominence of tourism as a major industry, some government sites will be more informative and easier to navigate than others, but generally, you'll find a free, one-stop source for information about travelling in the country, including:

internal travel promotions, like domestic air packages or rail passes that you need to purchase direct from the suppliers before you arrive in the country, and possibly other travel deals your travel agent may not know about or be able to offer you
links or contact information for free brochures, maps and promotions that can be sent to you by mail
calendars of events, festivals, public and religious holidays
recent news releases, which will in turn lead you to local news media you can access while you're traveling
specific regional and cultural information, including arts, cuisine, religious observances, ecological facts and significant attractions, some of which may not have hit the 'highlights' sections of travel guides yet
links to local tourism associations (and organizations like convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce) that direct you to local entrepreneurs of accomodation, restaurants, tour operations and other establishments, so that you can support sustainable tourism by putting your money directly into the hands of residents rather than large chains operating and benefiting outside the country.

As a small 'operator' myself, I fear maintaining a listing of the world's official tourism offices is beyond my capacity at this time, so use the search box below to find the office you're looking for.

The Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory is also a good resource, with the official tourism offices of countries around the world, as well as regional offices for many of the countries. (The link will open in a new window -- just close that other window to return here for more food and travel information from The Recipe for Travel.)

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