(Another) article on the tourism boom and overcrowding

Here's the reality. The world population dynamics have changed. We continue to grow and there are more countries that have a newly developed middle class with money to travel than there were 10 - 15 years ago. They are countries with massive populations. They are going to go somewhere.
I understand the impact this has on locations. I also understand it is worth talking about and considering solutions. Ultimately, however, we can only control what we have control over - which is our own travel.

We know there are alternates to Venice, CT, Paris, etc, so don't go there. Go to lesser places and talk them up to your friends.
Lead by example.

I agree, Maria.

On the macro level, something may very well need to be done. When we're talking curbing CO2 emissions, it'd seem something like imposing an aviation fuel tax would help. If short term vacation rentals are pricing residents out of affordable housing, clearly that needs to be addressed. If too many tourists are having a negative ecological impact and severely disrupting the quality of life for residents, that is certainly worth addressing.

On the micro level, there can be whole different way to approach things. As I sit here and contemplate where to go and what to do on the next of dozens of trips to Europe, I hardly think I should want to see anyone else priced out of their first, or even third. Further, there is the real - if not a bit intangible - benefit to everyone of allowing different cultures to interact, and getting people out of their immediate surroundings to experience other people and places. Beyond that, though, it simply suits us to be more resourceful and clever - travel to lesser known places, spend a bit more time in deciding where to go and when to go there. I personally love traveling off season, and honestly can't quite relate to complaints of crowding because I've never really experienced what I've felt was a crowd that interfered with my ability to enjoy the trip. And each time one of us goes off that beaten path a bit, or seeks out alternatives and lesser known places as less popular times, we may be - along with others doing the same - helping lighten that peak time load at those peak popularity places.

There are bigger and broader issues, for sure. When it comes to how we travel conscious of those for our own sake, it's just up to us to put in a bit more work to try and get the most of our travels, and contribute to least to the problems.

As long as big companies, or governments benefit on the macro level, it is going to be an uphill battle.
Climate change has been a 'thing' for 20 years and more. Canada has meetings about it....and well, you see how far that goes. These are not internet meetings either - they are in person, meaning adding to emissions, and handing out cheap 'made in whatever developing country is cheapest' computer bags. And the excess food can no longer be donated to homeless or those in need, etc. etc.
I used to be proud of our extensive curb recycling program, but didn't realize we no longer had people to deal with it in country and were shipping it overseas.....who are now shipping it back.

I realize this goes beyond travel, but it is all due to a similar mindset.
On the micro level, well, travel was for those with deeper pockets. It isn't an entitlement. I understand travel makes for a more global awareness and cultural interaction, that can work towards reduced intolerances. But that is also an individual thing. Look at any major North American city and they are already a general mosaic. I taught my kids tolerance and a global vision from home and our own neighbourhood at a time we had to have garage sales in order to afford a camping trip. So, essentially, a lot of the humanitarian stuff - can be taught at home.

I know my view is a simplified one of a large picture. And I am a pretty soft-hearted, generous spirited type - but with a practical streak. I have spent time in developing countries and if you knew the speed of 'progress' and pulling out of developing or third world economies, you would also realize that we are failing on a macro scale as to access for all and somewhere, the price is going to have to change, or the global/societal price is going to collapse.
Do I have the answers? Not yet ;-)

Brilliant, maria

“Lesser Places.” Authenticity in understanding other locations and cultures requires taking chances on places that are not designed/equipped to manage the scrum of tourists that come with “Top ten places” tours or cruise ships. Europeans love their small town holidays in places North Americans rarely go. But buses go there. Localities have great local websites these days. For examples: Lake Garda, or Sud-Tyrol. Romantic Road, versus a dozen smaller places like Nördlingen, Donauworth, etc..... Most of Europe is very authentic (ie most people go to work daily at ordinary jobs not related to tourism). Take the plunge and get off the fast trains on your second/third trips and explore. You will love the experiences even more.

NickB's ideas are very good, but I have my doubts whether things like that can make a dent in the real problems. We long ago switched from visiting large cities to mostly staying in out of the way villages in France. But for many people, their trip to Europe is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and they want to make sure they see the well-known sites, like Paris, Venice, etc.

I can certainly do without CT, Venice I'll go to, at least once, on the bucket list, like stepping into a painting.

Paris...swamped, inundated, overrun, etc with tourists...I will always go back to, as long as I can., have been doing that since 1973, never tire of the place.

Mostly, I go to places in Germany totally of the American tourist radar and foreign tourist radar...good., esp up in North Germany and in eastern Germany...some lovely places.

This is an aspect of the overcrowding that's not often considered. All the visitors to Europe have to get there somehow, and most often that's by air. I'm shocked that the E.U. doesn't levy any taxes on aviation fuel. It would be a good idea if they started doing that. Maybe that would encourage more people to use the environmentally friendly electrified rail system instead of cheap flights?

One thing that wasn't emphasized in the two articles is that the behemoth cruise ships emit far more pollutants than jet aircraft. Perhaps an increase in the fuel taxes for that sector would also be a good idea.

Hmmm, higher taxes on cruise ship and jet fuel to curb travel---- now only the rich can travel so fewer people travel and solves the problem..... or does it? Now the 'not rich' will get in their car and drive somewhere as that is all they can afford to do. Need someone with math skills greater than mine to figure out what the net result is. I have a gut feeling it may not be the net result that is desired.

The real problem is there are 7 billion people on the planet. Need 5 billion to leave so things will be restored to what it was in the early 1800's ( hopefully elon, jeff etc get their civilian rockets operating soon so we can start exporting the extra population off the planet... RS can start a new "Space through the side hatch" business )

If a city has 'too many' tourists, it limits the construction of hotels, imposes the same taxes and requirements for health and safety on airbnb type as on hotels and tourists no longer over run the place because they have no place to stay.

( yep, realize webmaster may nuke this... soap box going back to the basement)

And here's another one (in case anyone missed it last month) ...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/06/we-must-act-now-netherlands-tries-to-control-tourism-boom

Destination "management" vs. destination "promotion" ... what a concept!

If flights got too expensive, I would still go over, except i would cut expenses drastically everywhere else, eg. instead of doing a picnic few times on a trip , do it 75% of the time at dinner, stay 90% in hostels in dorm rooms, forget the private room option in a

dorm, lock myself into adv discount train tickets, do every night train option available on the trip, stay in university dorms in the summer, and of course, continue to fly basic Economy.

Hotel staffers in Austria and Germany have told me to come back in August to get the cheapest rates offered since that month is viewed as the slowest, therefore has the cheapest rates. Obviously too, that is usually when the heat could be the most oppressive and the crowds too, if these two factors matter.

Reducing the number of people travelling to Europe by increasing fuel taxes would have two benefits....

• it would reduce the number of people travelling and therefore help the overcrowding at popular tourist sites, but still allow the locals to make a good living from tourists.
• it would reduce the pollutants in the atmosphere, which would benefit all of us.

Perhaps this is a sign-of-the-times - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/12/boeing-deliveries-fall-56percent-in-may-as-737-max-planes-remains-grounded.html .

Can't we do something about all these unwashed masses mucking up my view? If I made a comment, it would be viewed as political - so I won't. ;-)

I was thinking along the same lines as Joe. Increased taxes for the environment, overcrowding, whatever, and then we're back to only privileged people being able to afford overseas travel. Perhaps the answer is in enhanced marketing that encourages off-season visits. On our visit to Ireland in late May the parking lots for the dreaded tour buses were nearly empty, and we walked right in to major sites with little or no lines. I realize tourism starts heating up by May, but from what my travelling friends have shared it beats the heck out of June-August.

42 million annual tourists to the Netherlands by 2030? Good Lord. Have fun there, folks.

1) We are retired. We usually travel on shoulder season.
2) We usually travel in the SE Europe area or rural Central Europe. Right now, we are in Timisuara. It's a marvel.
3) We use buses and trains. That way, we see actual Europeans. I had a great conversation with a helpful guy in German on our way to Beograd, Serbia.
4) We are respectful of locals, but only try a little on the various languages. That being said, between Wife and I, we speak some of 6 languages.

I think there are a lot of good ideas on how to reduce the number of tourists overwhelming the fragile places of the world. But western society values money above all things, so anything that interferes with making money is bound to fail. If Venice decides to build a cruise ship terminal away from the Grand Canal, that just means more and bigger cruise ships will be able to move more people through the cash machine. Permits to visit Cinque Terre? Well, someone will corner the market on reselling those permits. Or maybe this cycle of prosperity will end soon.

These are tough dilemmas that are not easily solved. Popular tourist destinations will always be highly popular because they offer the sights, museums and history people want to see. Most people that visit the alternate, less crowded destinations have likely already been to the popular ones.

Making it more expensive for people to travel will only mean that the affluent will be able to travel as readily. But affluence has grown worldwide as the middle and upper classes of once-third-world nations have developed and become more wealthy. There is no way to keep up with that growing wealth and desire to travel.

While I don't mean to be completely anti-cruise, most overcrowded destinations are negatively impacted in large part by cruise visits. A cruise can dump thousands of people into a city at once. Several ships can dump tens of thousands of people. They don't require accommodations, so limiting hotels and AirBnBs won't work. Adding taxes will make the cruises cost more, but won't really solve the issue. Cities will need to (and have) limit the amounts of cruise ships that can dock and how many people can be released.

The AirBnB issue is more complex than just tourist numbers. They can negatively impact established hotels and inns, and can increase the number of visitors. But they also can make housing for locals less available and more expensive. And the quality of life for those living next to short term rentals can be diminished. More and more cities are working to assert control and regulation over short term rentals, for those reasons.

If I were to substitute Prague with other Czech towns, mainly because of the crowds, I would pick Olomouc (as suggested primarily of its historical connections), Plzen, Brno, Ostrava, but the crowds would not keep me away from Prague anyway.

As usual your remarks makes sense Emma. Yes, it’s good to ask yourself if your happiness really depends on travelling.

I doubt the appeal to people to not travel overseas will have much if any impact, and how much does it matter if someone is visiting London from, for example, Manchester vs Boone County, WV? Isn't the tourist crush on London the same? It is a good point about the repeated visits to the same place, but again that's not going to change by appealing to the better angels of one's nature, imo. For many people travelling is absolutely a component of their happiness and well-being. I know the thought of periodic excursions gives me something to look forward to in the interim.

This is about supply and demand, and the only way to decrease demand is to make the product more expensive or inaccessible, and the latter isn't practical. Will this impose limitations on the less privileged being able to travel? Yes, but what else can be done?

FWIW we're staying stateside next year, travelling through New England and up into Canada, a country we should have just taken over long ago (kidding!). Scotland has been pushed to 2021 for my (ouch) 60th birthday. We'll stop over in London to have coffee with Emma before taking the train. If you look at life like four quarters of a football game, with life expectancy of about 80 years old, then I'm approaching the fourth quarter. That's depressing. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to go into overtime?

A "quick fix"? Travel during the late autumn, winter, or early spring and "overcrowding" isn't an issue. If you travel in the summer when MOBS travel, you'll be surrounded entrenched with tourists plus pay exorbitant prices due to demand being high.

Continental, for some people, especially with kids, you're sort of stuck with taking vacations when school isn't in session, like the dreaded June-August time frame. Ugh. There is also a large contingent of educators that are limited to travel during summer or Christmas-New Years. Of course the weather is often abysmal in northern Europe much of the year, so is the trade off to avoid the crush of tourists worth it? That's a tough call (unless you're skiing), which is why the shoulder seasons might be a tad bit better, but not much.

Hi this may come as a shock to some, but we locals of the tourism capital of Barcelona also go on summer holiday, gasp! Just because we live in a touristy city does not mean that we can't be tourists ourselves. July and August are also our most popular times to escape our city. If one ventures outside of the main tourist areas in the Barrio Gotico and Example, you will see most of our local residential neighbourhoods (northern/western parts of the city) are half empty and even a number of area restaurants are closed during the high summer months. There is still a majority of Barcelona where one can go and not see a single tourist for the whole day, even during the summer.

Practically all of my trips to Europe, including the very first one of 12 weeks, were within that dreaded time frame of June to August.

The recent post-retirement trips have started in May. It is a trade-off, there are certain advantages going in the peak summer months, as there are specific disadvantages...all depends if one sees these factors as relevant or not.

I'll go to Paris, be it from May to Sept, regardless of the crowds, heat, noise, etc. Just being there is it. Likewise with Berlin.

The only equitable way to fix the overtourism problem in Western Europe is to nationalise the principal parts of the tourist industry (airlines, hotels, cruises, airports, tour companies, etc.), and then ration use based on need and benefit instead of wealth. A poor family living in the region should be prioritised over a rich individual flying in from thousands of miles away. Children should be given priority to visit an historical sight over superannuated guidebook wielders like me.

That's my modest proposal.

Continental, for some people, especially with kids, you're sort of
stuck with taking vacations when school isn't in session, like the
dreaded June-August time frame. Ugh. There is also a large contingent
of educators that are limited to travel during summer or Christmas-New
Years.

Hey Mike, I completely understand that. Growing up, I went to Europe with my parents (Italy, Austria, Germany) the first time during Spring vacation from school which was in mid-March. No tourist mobs at all including our visit to Venice! The cost savings were also a huge advantage for my parents.

The only equitable way to fix the overtourism problem in Western
Europe is to nationalise the principal parts of the tourist industry
(airlines, hotels, cruises, airports, tour companies, etc.), and then
ration use based on need and benefit instead of wealth.

Nationalize means government theft of people's businesses. That people put in their life savings and sweat is irrelevant as there is no compensation or purchase of these businesses from the government. JUST THEFT. Nothing remotely "equitable" about that. It's robbery.

The first time we took our grandson on his first trip to Paris and France was in June (2005), a couple of months prior to his turning 5. In 2011 again I was with him at the end of June back in France and Paris.

We didn't actually travel in the summer with children per se since he was the only child on these trips, accompanied by 3 adults.

If we've learned anything from European history...........one good pandemic would fix it.

Emma, good thoughts I didn't consider. In my defense we were very conscious about being good guests in your country. We always stayed to the right on stairs/escalators, moved to a corner somewhere to look at a map or discuss where the hell we were going, and within a day learned to move and keep moving through the Tube turnstiles. If we got confused we moved to the side somewhere.
I thought we were practically experts by the time we left. I even learned--or so I'd like to think--to flag down a bus without looking like an overexcited tourist.

Maybe we saw you, or you saw us, and didn't know it?

One funny incident included a stereotypical, overconfident, loud American jumping red-faced onto a train while announcing to his family still on the platform, "This is it!" The family looked uncertain and as the doors closed, the guy barely made it out before losing an arm. This was followed by some yelling as the train pulled away. Maybe he was correcting/lambasting his family?