Overtourism: What Can We Do?

Six simple ways to be a good traveller

by Kathy Buckworth

Tourists being sprayed with water guns while dining in Barcelona. Locals marching with “Tourist Go Home” signs in Mallorca. Japan’s Mount Fuji imposing a tourism fee in an effort to discourage some visitors. These are just a handful of headlines appearing more frequently, as overtourism incidents seem to be getting out of control around the globe, particularly in Europe and Japan.

What’s changed from destinations actively courting tourists, to now, where we are witnessing cities and entire countries pushing tourists away? For many countries, risking the reduction of tourism dollars is a vital part of their economy. 

There are a few forces at play. Pent-up travel demand from the lockdowns during the pandemic is still affecting the travel market. Budget airlines have made expensive and distant locations easier and cheaper to reach. This, combined with the ability of social media to spread the word about an ‘unmissable’ place or experience, can cause a virtual and real landslide of interest in an area not prepared to accept hordes of people. The result can be the deterioration of the natural environment, destruction of ancient landmarks and lowering the standard of living for people in those localities.

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What is overtourism?

Let’s step back a minute. What exactly is overtourism?

Overtourism is a term used to describe the phenomenon which occurs when a destination becomes so overcrowded that locals can’t go about with their normal day-to-day lives due to the disruption caused by visitors. The increase in short-term rentals (Airbnb etc.) can make the cost to live in the city untenable for those who live and need to work there. It also speaks to the destruction of natural and ancient landmarks resulting from thousands of tourists climbing, touching or wilfully destroying items that have been around for centuries, rendering them less valuable or even visitable for future generations.

Mabrian (a global travel intelligence agency) recently released a white paper on how destinations can help to avoid and control overtourism. But this is just the beginning of a change that needs to take place to protect people and the earth.