Arnie Weissmann, Travel Weekly US (left), and Salli Felton, The Travel Foundation, with Derek Hydon from Tourism Cares, and Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Adam Goldstein (right)
don’t give much thought to it. We commissioned research, realised there are a lot of things wrong with this and took a decision. We imposed our will, if you like. Then we thought: ‘Let’s influence others.’ Now 150 companies have signed up not to offer elephant riding. Operators have a responsibility to do that type of thing. “Overtourism is harder because
Barcelona: Airbnb says it
has reduced its number of listings in the city centre
numbers]. But there are examples already, such as the Galapagos. Glacier Bay, in Alaska, makes only so many permits available each year. But it’s difficult to impose limits fairly. Do you just raise the price? “People have to see benefit. If
people realise that going to places where the eco-structure is fragile will cause damage. “In the cruise industry, we
keep looking for new places to take ships. It’s difficult to attract people away from iconic places, but we need more dispersion. It’s more likely [to be accomplished] by finding different places to take people than by saying ‘don’t go to St Mark’s Square’. “Many people would disagree, in principle, with limits [on tourist
hts on tackling overtourism
overtourism: alienated residents, a degraded tourism experience, overloaded infrastructure, damage to nature, and threats to culture and heritage. The roundtable formed part of a wider programme of work by the Travel Foundation aimed at improving the management and sustainability of destinations. It was co-hosted by Travel Weekly US editor Arnie Weissmann.
tourists paid a tax for the benefit of visiting Barcelona, there could be enormous wealth generation for the city, which could be redirected into public transport or services.”
ADAM GOLDSTEIN:
“There is a lot of frustration about congestion on Santorini. We’ve noted this to the Greek authorities. “Why do all Greek destination
marketing materials feature Santorini? Tourists could be pointed to other islands, without putting all the stress on Santorini. Even on Santorini, [improved] infrastructure would allow the island to handle traffic better.”
CHRIS LEHANE:
“In Barcelona and New Orleans, we’ve reduced the number of listings. In New Orleans, we don’t do listings in the French Quarter. In Barcelona, we took stuff down from the centre. “We’ve begun working with countries, destination marketing organisations and cities to make data accessible, to help with planning. Ireland, France and Italy are interested in driving tourism to rural areas. But travellers are still going to go to Dublin, Rome
“It’s difficult to attract people away from iconic places, but we need more dispersion”
and Paris, right? The question is whether they stay there for two weeks, or three or four days.”
DARRELL WADE:
“There are usually a couple of ‘must do’ things in a region or country. You can’t sell a trip to India without the Taj Mahal. But we’ll carry 400,000 clients this year and most tell us that, more than the Taj Mahals of the world, they enjoy places they had not heard of or didn’t expect. “A quality tour operator or agent
presents those opportunities. We get an enormous level of repeat business not because we go to the Taj Mahal, but because we go to those other places. “Responsible tourism is important. In many respects, overtourism is the antithesis of responsible tourism. [But] the reality is people make decisions that are not fully informed. Tour operators have a responsibility to delve into these issues because we live with them all the time. “Five or six years ago, we looked at the issue of riding elephants. At the time, 20% of our clients went elephant riding. Most people
it lacks definition. One of the problems for the cruise industry is the visibility of ships. Another [is that] there isn’t a lot left behind from a cruise passenger. You know the term ‘ice cream tourist’? They get all their meals on the ship and get off to buy ice cream – and that is the end of their economic impact. That is something we’ve got to work through.”
MATTHEW UPCHURCH:
“Ultimately, each city or country needs to decide. It’s not for us to decide for them. It’s for them to say: ‘This is what we want.” Take Bhutan or Botswana, which have chosen low-impact, high-yield tourism. The flip side [is] why should a bunch of rich people get special access? “I can bring 100 clients a day
to a site such as Chichen Itza [in Mexico] for a sunrise or sunset with no crowds – and they will pay $1,000. I said to ministers in Mexico: ‘You could look at this as a populist issue, or look at it like German car makers producing BMWs, and decide special access has a price tag. You can extract more value at lower impact.’”
ADAM GOLDSTEIN:
“The cruise industry goes to about 1,000 places. Most want more tourists, not fewer. In places that have the opposite concern, we hope best practices and intelligent thinking [can help] figure out ways to increase capacity without exacerbating the problem.”
DAVID DINGLE:
“The issue remains, how do we deal with hotspots? The fact we may open many more tourist opportunities is not going to make people say: ‘I won’t, at any time, go to Venice.’”
9 August 2018
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