Top Travel Agency Group Wants to Find Fixes for Overtourism

Travel Leaders Group, a major travel agency consortium, has joined forces with New York University’s School of Professional Studies to address overtourism. The broad initiative combines research, partnerships with destinations, travel advisor education, consumer outreach, and marketing. The move comes as awareness of overtourism increases, and some travelers are opting for unique experiences instead of competing with crowds in the best-known destinations. By teaming up with NYU, Travel Leaders has access to resources that include an “overtourism index” drafted by graduate students to help destinations evaluate whether they are facing overtourism. The index, claimed to be an industry first, provides a range of measurements, including economic factors, accessibility, accommodation capacity, societal issues, environmental concerns, local community perceptions, and media. Additionally Travel Leaders is conducting research of its own, including a recent survey of destination