NEWS THE TRAVEL CONVENTION 2018


The Travel Convention 2018: Brexit, technology and overtourism take centre stage at Abta event


Stuart Leven (left), Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Mark Tanzer, Abta


‘Overtourism can be solved with a long-term strategy’


Overtourism requires “urgent” attention in the most-crowded destinations, Abta’s Mark Tanzer told delegates.


Speaking in a panel discussion on the issue, the association’s chief executive said: “Globally, there are 40 million new tourists every year – about the size of the UK market. The top-20 destination countries account for 50% of the growth. There are huge benefits to this – tourism is an intense job creator. “[But] there has to be


infrastructure. We want to minimise the impacts on residents and destinations. Waste management is a big issue, and overcrowding. It requires us, as


Enrique Ybarra


“It would be elitist to try to price people out. We don’t want to say we don’t want people”


a sector, to plan long-term with destinations. “It is a complicated issue and


is not going to be easy to solve. I don’t think it is insurmountable, but it does require urgent and collaborative attention.” Stuart Leven, Royal Caribbean Cruises’ vice-president for the EMEA region and managing director, agreed overtourism was “a challenge” but dismissed the suggestion that the cruise industry bore a sizeable responsibility. “Cruise is a small part of it,” said


Leven. “Millions more have access to travel. People are living longer and travelling more and there is the growth of the global middle class.” He said some of the more than


500 ports Royal uses are “really good” at smoothing out arrivals, citing Dubrovnik, Croatia, as an


18 travelweekly.co.uk 18 October 2018


example, adding: “The travel industry has to contribute, but the real solution sits with the destination. It comes back to [having] a long-term sustainable strategy. Every destination is unique. We have to work at the destination level.” Tanzer agreed, saying: “It would be elitist to try to price people out. We don’t want to start by saying we don’t want people to come.” He noted a backlash against


Airbnb, adding: “There are tensions with people staying in places not created for tourists. It is not the sharing economy that created the problem, but it has made it more intense.” Enrique Ybarra, president and


chief executive of City Sightseeing Worldwide, said: “Many see it as a problem. I see it more as an opportunity. We can’t put limits [on tourism] or erect barriers. We have to manage flows properly.” “In Amsterdam, we try to


spread tourists to other areas. There are technology solutions for monuments and museums – virtual queueing.”


UK ambassador lauds clampdown on sickness claims


The UK ambassador to Spain praised the industry for co-operating to help stamp out bogus gastric illness complaints by Britons. The issue tarnished the


reputation of British tourists to the country, Simon Manley told The Travel Convention. However, action to reduce


false illness claims in a country that attracted almost 19 million British holidaymakers last year had revived the reputation of UK tourists, he said. Manley attributed the shift


to the “fundamental quality” of collaboration between Abta and the Foreign Office. But he said 330 Britons had died and 400 taken to hospital this year in Spain, many of them young travellers, some of whom had fallen from balconies.


Simon Manley


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