Regions Batch 1 – Countries Based on Poll Votes

As announced in the Regions Review Roadmap, we are officially beginning the implementation of regional changes across selected countries. This post presents the first batch of countries where changes were approved through community voting.

The countries included in this phase are: Albania, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname, Nepal, Azerbaijan, Libya and Syria.

Below, we explain how each country is affected, the reasoning behind the changes, and how community feedback shaped the final decisions. As always, we welcome your suggestions — please share them in the comments section.

Albania (optimal score 3.54)

Although Albania is classified as a Very Small Country (VSC) — where we typically avoid adding regions despite optimal score suggestions — the community vote clearly supported expansion.

As a result, Albania moves from 2 to 3 regions (with the optimal score 3.54). This change better reflects the country’s diversity, tourism dynamics, and traditional territorial divisions.

Old NM regions (2)	New NM regions (3)
Albania – North Albania – South	Albania – Northeastern (Tirana, Shkoder) Albania – Southeastern (Berat, Korca) Albania – Coastal (Durrës, Vlorë, Fier)

This structure aligns with historical, cultural, and tourism-based regional distinctions.

Dominican Republic (optimal score 3.37)

Voted together with Albania, the Dominican Republic follows a similar expansion model.

Old NM regions (2)	New NM regions (3)
Dominican Republic – North Dominican Republic – East/South	DR – Cibao (Santiago, Puerto Plata, Samaná) DR – Eastern (Santo Domingo, Punta Cana) DR – Southern (San Juan de la Maguana, Barahona)

Additional notes:

• The northern region has been renamed to Cibao, reflecting its strong historical, cultural, economic, and geographical context (see the case study).
• The Eastern region remains the country’s primary tourism hub with the countries capital of Santo Domingo and the main tourist area around Punta Cana.
• The Southern region is positioned as a destination for explorers seeking less-traveled paths and deeper cultural experiences.

Guyana (optimal score 2.77)

Despite being a less-visited destination, the poll results strongly supported the optimal score model, confirming the proposed expansion.

Old NM regions (2)	New NM regions (3)
Guyana – Coastal Guyana – Inland	Guyana – Coastal (Georgetown, New Asterdam) Guyana – Highlands (Kaieteur Falls, Lethem) Guyana – Berbice-Corentyne (Linden)

An internal border correction ensures the Coastal region remains fully coastal, resulting in East Berbice–Corentyne being divided between regions.

Suriname (optimal score 2.92)

Voted in the same package as Guyana, Suriname follows a parallel restructuring.

Old NM regions (2)	New NM regions (3)
Suriname – South Suriname – North	Suriname – South (Sipaliwini) Suriname – East Coast (Paramaribo) West Coast (Nieuwe Nickerie)

Nepal (optimal score 4.87)

Despite a high optimal score, the community voted for a moderate expansion from 3 to 4 regions.

Taking geography and community input into account, the new structure is:

Old NM regions (3)	New NM regions (4)
Nepal – East Nepal – Central Nepal – West	Nepal – Midlands East (Kathmandu) Nepal – Midlands West (Pokhara) Nepal – Himalayas (Nache, Mustang) Nepal – Terai Plains (Biratnagar, Lumbini, Nepalganj)

This model reflects Nepal’s natural geography and travel realities more accurately.

Azerbaijan (optimal score 2.56)

Azerbaijan is a ‘sui generis’ case. Its region of Karabakh has been recently incorporated into the country and while not administratively separately as a region, it so far requires special permits to visit. Additionally there is Nakhchivan which is an essential region on it’s own and should be separated irrespective of the mainland division.

While voting in terms of the possible addition of Karabakh as an extra region of Azerbaijan, 58% agree whereas only 27% disagree. This is what we are going to do.

Old NM regions (2+1)	New NM regions (3+1)
Azerbaijan – East Azerbaijan – West Azerbaijan – Nakhchivan	Azerbaijan – Eastern Azerbaijan – Western Azerbaijan – Karabakh Azerbaijan – Nakhchivan

Libya (optimal score 4.55)

Libya is the world’s 16 largest country – the largest country on NomadMania only divided into 4 regions (in comparison, similar sized Sudan has 7 regions). Even when ‘punished’ in our calculations with a lower territory score because of its high desert percentage, the optimal still suggests adding a region to Libya.

As a result of the vote, there was community agreement to add a region (although with a small margin 45% for and 42% against), which was surprising to us but also points to a general respect for the Optimal Score where this is very clear even in the case of the most ‘cumbersome’ places.

After careful consideration, we’ve agreed on the following approach:

Old NM regions (4)	New NM regions (5)
Libya – Tripolitania Libya – Fezzan Libya – Cyrenaica Libya – Cyrenaica – Kurfa (Libyan Desert)	Libya – Tripolitania – Coast (Tripoli) Libya – Fezzan (Sabha) Libya – Cyrenaica (Benghazi) Libya – Cyrenaica – Kurfa (Libyan Desert) Libya – Tripolitania – Inland (Nalut, Gadamis)

We will create one additional region in Libya — Tripolitania — with the aim of encouraging travel beyond Tripoli, which has recently seen a modest increase in inbound tourism. A key highlight of such journeys would be a visit to the desert oasis town of Ghadames, located near the tri-border area with Tunisia and Algeria.

This change also allocates an additional region to the Government of National Unity (GNU), one of the two political entities currently governing Libya. The other is the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the House of Representatives, which together control most of the country — including almost the entire east and extending westward to the Algerian border across much of the southern desert. (See the map for the current on-the-ground situation.)

The final adjustment involves a minor shift of the internal border between the two coastal provinces west of the city of Sirte. With these minimal changes, we preserve alignment with Libya’s three traditional regions — Tripolitania (Northwest), Fezzan (Southwest), and Cyrenaica (East) — reflecting both the political reality and the traveler’s perspective, while respecting the Optimal Score and the community vote.

Syria (optimal score 2.85)

This case was voted together with Azerbaijan, proposing the addition of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria which was under Kurdish forces control since 2014 as a new essential region.

However, since the vote (December last year), the situation on the ground has changed significantly. Government forces have regained control over previously autonomous territories, and the political future of this area remains uncertain.

Despite the vote in favor of adding one more region (as a sui generis case overriding the Optimal Score), NomadMania will not implement any regional changes in Syria at this time.

We maintain a policy of avoiding regional restructuring during active conflicts and instead prefer to rely on internationally recognised legal frameworks. The situation will continue to be monitored and we hope to reach a final decision in the next few months.

Conclusion 

This first phase demonstrates our commitment to a structured, transparent, and community-driven Regional Review process.

It reflects:

• Respect for the Optimal Score model
• Strong emphasis on community voting
• Careful handling of politically sensitive regions

Your input remains essential. Please refer to the Roadmap and Guidelines, and continue contributing your ideas and feedback. Together, we are building the most meaningful travel list in the world.

You can expect the actual map implementations next week. We’ll keep you informed about any changes and continue moving forward according to our roadmap.