Skift Take
While everyone has heard horror stories of overcrowded destinations, hostile locals, and lining up for hours for a glimpse of a tourist attraction, travel advisors are still faced with requests to visit the world’s most popular places. They have a dilemma: Do they make the booking or risk losing the business by recommending alternatives?
Overtourism, the result of having too many visitors show up to a place at the same time, is becoming such a problem for popular destinations that both the United Nations and the European Union have recently issued guidelines to reduce tourist overcrowding.
Cheaper international airfares, the growth of the cruise market, and the emergence of cheap accommodation options such as Airbnb are fueling the overtourism phenomenon. Europe, in particular but not exclusively, is feeling the effects, with cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Venice struggling to cope with the huge influx of visitors.
The situation is likely to get much worse, with the number of international travelers predicted to grow to more than 1.8 billion by 2030, an increase of more than three per cent a year since 2010, according to Clare Jenkinson, senior destinations and sustainability manager for the Association of British Travel Agents.
“If not managed properly, large numbers of tourists can put a strain on a destination’s infrastructure, its community and its environment,” she said. “Travel companies are increasingly aware of the impact tourism has on a community.”
Travel Advisors React
Not surprisingly,
