The Week UK - 03.08.2019

Briefing NEWS 13

3August 2019 THE WEEK

Is “overtourism” reallyaword?
It is now. Last year, the Oxford English
Dictionary shortlisted it as one of its
words of the year, defining it like this:
“An excessive number of tourist visits
to apopular destination or attraction,
resulting in damage to the local
environment and historical sites, and in
poorer quality of life for residents.” The
same phenomenon has given rise to other
words too:turismofobiaemerged in
Spain, in the tourist hotspots of Mallorca
and Barcelona, while the Roman writer
Marco d’Eramo coined the phrase
“Unescocide”. D’Eramo argues that
Unesco’s listing of World Heritage Sites
preserves historic places, but destroys the
authentic life of the communities around
them, turning them into theme parks.

Which places are most affected?
Venice is the most famous example: it has some 25 million visitors
ayear, andalocal population of less than 60,000 in the historic
centre. From April to October, 32,000 cruise ship passengers
disembark daily, joining nearly halfamillion day-trippers. And
it’s the same in many picturesque European cities: Barcelona had
32 million visitors in 2018, while Paris, Amsterdam, Prague and
Dubrovnik have been inundated with millions of selfie stick-toting
tourists, clogging the streets, pricing locals out of rental
accommodation. Last year, an EU report identified 105 destin-
ations worldwide suffering from overtourism. It’saglobal issue:
the UK firm Responsible Travel lists 98 places in 63 nations that
have experienced destructive inundations, from Rio de Janeiro to
the Isle of Skye, Angkor Wat to Machu Picchu, the Galápagos to
Uluru, Easter Island to Ko Phi Phi Leh in Thailand (see box).

Why are we hearing about overtourism now?
Tourists, and complaints about them, are nothing new: Venetians
have moaned about them since the 18th century. But the sheer
numbers today are unprecedented. In 2018, international tourist
arrivals reached 1.4 billion, nearly triple the 1995 level, and a
6% increase on the previous year.Aburgeoning middle class,
particularly in Asia, has taken to travel: the Chinese made 150
million outbound trips last year, and
that is expected to rise to 400 million
in 2030. Millennials–int heir 20s and
30s –are also keen travellers: they are
believed to prioritise experience over
possessions. Budget airlines and huge,
cheap cruise ships have sprung up to
service these new customers, while the
internet has supercharged the tourist
business: Airbnb, with six million
global listings, has made millions of
beds available to the tourism market
without any kind of local planning.

What are its effects?
It varies from place to place, but
according toa2017 McKinsey report,
there are five main challenges. First,
local residents are “alienated”–by
rising rents, noise, overcrowding, the
displacement of local shops, and the
changing character of their
neighbourhoods. Secondly, the tourist
experience itself becomes “degraded”
by crowds and long queues. Third,

tourism can overload local infrastructure,

whether transport or sewage: the island

of Boracay in the Philippines had to be

closed because raw sewage flowed from

booming hotels and restaurants straight

into the sea. There’s also the wider

damage to nature–many Thai islands

have seen their coral devastated by

humans–asw ell as to culture and

heritage. Machu Picchu and Angkor

Wat, among others, have suffered

damage from the heavy tourist footfall.

What can be done about it?

Grass-roots resistance has grown in

Europe. “Tourists go home, refugees

welcome”, runs one popular graffiti

slogan in Barcelona, while in Mallorca,

fed-up residents picket arriving tourists

with signs reading: “One Flight Every

Minute Is Not Sustainable”. Their fury has inspiredarange of

measures. Dubrovnik, Amsterdam and Santorini in Greece have

all limited the number of cruise ship passengers allowed to disem-

bark every day: these areaparticular bone of contention, because

they come in very large numbers, but often pay very little, as they

don’t stay and sometimes don’t even buy food. Barcelona, Madrid

and Reykjavík have all moved to regulate Airbnb, reducing

lettings. And Venice plans to charge day trippers to the city centre

an entry fee ofs2.50 in the low season, ands10 at the height of

summer. Thailand and the Philippines have issued outright bans

on some of their islands, to allow wildlife to recover.

Won’t that be bad for business?

The industry shows no sign of declining; on the contrary, it’s

one of the world’s fastest growing, despite fears about its carbon

footprint and social effects. Tourism isamassive business–the

World Travel&Tourism Council estimates that it accounts for

around 10% of the world’s GDP, and the same proportion of

global jobs. But whereas in the past the aim of tourist authorities

was to increase numbers, they’re now trying to manage numbers,

and to discourage, for instance, day trips, and “party tourism” –

which is often unpopular with local residents. Paris has sought

to rid its city centre of tour buses. There isatrend among many

tourist authorities–such as

Amsterdam’s–tod rive interest away

from busy sites to less-visited areas.

What sort of less-visited areas?

Most of the world, actually. One of

the problems with tourism is that it

is very unevenly distributed. The

top ten tourist nations account for

around half of all inbound tourist

visits: France, the most visited of all,

received around 90 million foreign

tourists last year. Every year, more

people visit Easter Island, which is

just 63 square miles, than go to the

whole of Bangladesh. Tourists could

be more imaginative: visiting

neighbouring Treviso, for example,

rather than Venice. There is a

growing movement to make tourism

more sustainable; and to spread its

profits, as well as the nuisance.

Having always focused on the guests,

the industry now needs to think

about the hosts as well.

The curse of overtourism

All around the world, tourist destinations are being endangered by their own popularity

Venice: some 25 million tourists visit annually

The search for the perfect selfie

One of the salient features of contemporary tourism

is that it is very media-driven. Droves of visitors

descended on Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh in Thailand,

in large part because of its role as the central location

of the Leonardo DiCaprio filmThe Beach.Similarly, the

island of Santorini became one of the most popular

travel destinations in Greece after it appeared inThe

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.And Jean-Paul

Angelvin,afarmer in Provence, was surprised when

Chinese tourists started appearing in his lavender

fields in 2012: he had forgotten thataChinese film

crew had used them in romantic scenes for the smash-

hit TV seriesDreams BehindaCrystal Curtain.Today,

he receives around 60,000 visitors each season.

Inevitably, social media has playedapart in this too, as

travellers seek out the perfect backdrop for their posts

on Facebook and Instagram. This year, Walker Canyon

in southern California had to be closed to visitors who

flocked to the region, selfie sticks in hand, to capture

the golden poppy “superbloom”, gridlocking the local

interstate and streets around the trailhead. The

Colosseum, the Vatican and the Palace of Versailles,

among other hotspots, have banned selfie sticks –

citing safety concerns and the inconvenience to others.