Popular European destinations have faced anti-tourist rhetoric despite being largely dependent on tourism revenue. Amviti Rai looks at the dangers of over-tourism and solutions.
What is happening in Europe?
A recent Reuters article reported that the tourist destination of Capri saw 16,000 tourists visit the island per day during peak season, while the local population reached 12,900. The influx of tourists has created a housing crisis, with everyone wanting to rent out their homes to tourists, which in turn creates even more problems. The article quotes Teodorico Boniello, head of the local consumer association, as saying, “There are more people coming than we can handle, and families cannot settle because they cannot afford the cost of staying there.” Residents of Spain’s Canary Islands, a European island popular with tourists, have also called for restrictions on tourist arrivals. Other popular cities have seen a “softer” backlash, with Venice becoming the first to introduce entrance fees for tourists during peak season, Florence banning the construction of new holiday rentals in the city center, and even Capri doubling its tourist fee from 2.5 to 5 euros.
The dangers of too many visitors
Capri is not the first example of tourists overwhelmed a city’s accommodation capacity. The Canary Islands have exceeded their capacity by seven times. Hawaii has experienced this on a massive scale, with 9.5 million visitors for 1.5 million residents in 2023. In addition to the obvious problems of overcrowding and disruption of residents’ daily lives, overtourism also creates problems that affect all aspects of popular destinations. First of all, there are ecological impacts, such as endangering local flora and fauna and generating excess waste. Urban infrastructure also cannot cope with the influx of tourists. Economically, the tourism boom increases revenues and some economies certainly depend on tourism, but it also increases housing prices.
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The Indian experience
There is ample anecdotal evidence that hill resorts like Manali, Shimla and Nainital get overcrowded with tourists every summer. However, some cases have certainly emerged in recent times, such as Joshimath in Uttarakhand, which witnessed major cracks appearing in roads and buildings last year. Geologists said this was due to Joshimath being located in a high earthquake risk area, unplanned construction of houses and hotels, and over-pumping of natural resources like groundwater. In response, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a carrying capacity assessment of the hill city in his state. The incident also led the state government to set a daily cap of 47,500 pilgrims for the Char Dham Yatra, but following pressure from local residents, this limit was lifted, resulting in a record number of pilgrims at 4.47 million.
High admission fees act as a filter
The most common solution to limiting tourism numbers has generally been the introduction of tourist or entrance fees. Cinque Terre National Park on the Italian Riviera now charges 15 euros to enter its popular seaside promenade to alleviate crowds. And Mount Fuji authorities are installing view barriers at popular tourist selfie spots and imposing a 2,000 yen entrance fee per climber to avoid disturbing nearby residents and businesses.
Other measures include banning tourists from Gion, Kyoto’s famous entertainment district. But the most successful example of tackling overtourism is neighbouring Bhutan, which promotes the concept of high-value, low-volume tourism, requiring tourists to pay a sustainable development fee of $100 per night – lower for nationals of India, Bangladesh and the Maldives.
Sustainable tourism is the way forward
Balancing a destination’s carrying capacity with its revenue-generating potential is essential. The United Nations World Tourism Organization lists sustainable tourism as one of its goals – tourism that fully considers current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, and addresses the needs of visitors, industry, the environment and host communities. The first step is a proper carrying capacity assessment of the area, which authorities should then follow. Encouraging tourists to visit in the off-season and following Bhutan’s example by investing entrance fee revenues in infrastructure improvements can also help optimize tourism’s benefits.
