Wikivoyage:Should I merge two pages?

If an article on Wikivoyage fails the policy of what is an article, one option is to merge the article into that of a nearby destination. This is done by moving content (if applicable) to the other article and creating a redirect from the merge candidate to the preserved article.

What counts as a nearby destination?

If an unimportant place is on the fringe of a more important place with points of interest for the traveller, merging the unimportant destination into the other one makes sense from the traveller's point of view. This alone does not make the article a merge candidate, as both places may be travel destinations and therefore also valid articles. However, if the unimportant place fails to serve as a travel destination by itself, it becomes a valid merge candidate.

If an unimportant place and a more important place are too far apart for convenient navigation, do not merge. If the best redirect target is a region article, make sure the region article includes enough information about the redirect origin for the merge to make sense. If the region article covers a massive area and convenient navigation across the region is difficult, a redirect to the region article might not be appropriate. In that case it might be better to redirect to a nearby destination than a region article.

Suburbs may be acceptable travel articles, and even if short on tourist attractions, may be visited by travellers for business reasons or family or friends. However, if a suburb fails the "what is an article" test, it too may be merged; in some cases districtification may be appropriate.

Guidelines

• Don't merge or redirect a place solely on the basis of the current content. You need two reasons to redirect a page if it lacks content: your first no-content reason plus any other plausible excuse.
• Do redirect a place that you believe is unlikely to become a well-developed article even if someone took an interest in it. Consider:
  • Local knowledge (such as from living nearby or from having visited) is useful in determining whether a destination does deserve its own article.
  • Zero or only one place to sleep and eat, particularly if these are best avoided. However, a destination with multiple attractions should probably not be merged, even if restaurants and hotels are in short supply.
  • A place with lack of points of interest should usually not have its own article.
• Do redirect a place that could be more easily or sensibly described in the context of a larger article.

Do I need consensus?

• If you're fairly sure, then plunge forward.
• If it might be controversial, then propose a merge with {{merge}} and open a discussion to achieve consensus to merge.
• If someone redirected a page that you think was not the best candidate for redirecting, either:
  • Revert it and expand it enough to show why you think it shouldn't be redirected
  • Or propose an "unmerge" on the talk page to determine consensus.
• It is okay to use your own discretion, but when doing so, be aware that consensus may support an unmerge, or another contributor may expand the article.

See also

• Wikivoyage:How to merge two pages