Honeypot (geography)

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In geography, a honeypot is a particularly popular visitor attraction within a managed tourist area, such as a national park. Examples include Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District, Bakewell in Derbyshire, Swanage, Box Hill on the North Downs of Surrey, Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales, and Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

Honeypot sites are often encouraged because they concentrate the damage caused by tourists on small sites, making conservation easier in other parts of the managed area. Honeypots can suffer from overcrowding problems including litter, strain on facilities and transport networks, crime and erosion, but are often promoted in order to reduce these problems in other areas. The term originates from bees buzzing around a bee hive and honey^{[citation needed]}. It can also be said that a town is a 'honey pot' town.