In the last year, especially with the advent of summer, it is talked about a lot overtourism. Expressing his opinion and underlining his seriousness is the Unesco which, among its goals, also has that of safeguarding and protecting a unique cultural and natural heritage at an international level. Heritage that the mass tourism of the last 50 years (because overtourism is not only a current problem) puts at risk. Already in 1975 the effects of groups of tourists were compared to “cultural devastation left in the wake of the great barbarian migrations”.
Tourism shapes our worldfor better or worse, altering our economies and cultures, as well as our physical environments. When tourism becomes overtourismThese elements are amplified the maximum power that involves factors that adversely affects residentsthey affect the essence and authenticity of places and contribute to the social, cultural and environmental deterioration that surrounds them.
UNESCO’s opinion on overtourism
Overture is the term that is used to define a excessive number of visitors in a place that leads to overcrowding and forcing the residents to suffer the consequences of temporary and seasonal tourist peaks, which have repercussions on their lifestyles. Mass tourism does not spare anyone and there are many destinations affected by the phenomenon: UNESCO, in the article published on its website, highlighted some of the most famous cases such as Baliin Indonesia. Here, overtourism has resulted in an increase in the cost of living and cultural clashes when tourists do not behave respectfully and violate sacred sites.
Same thing at Kyotoin Japan where the rich cultural heritage is considered a magnet for mass tourism and has led to the emergence of breast cancer or “tourist pollution”, where the city is busy trying to control the flow of visitors and manage tourism well. In these cases, the consequences are also found in the inability of public infrastructure to keep up with the increase in demand and to create effective solutions to avoid situations such as traffic congestion in tourist areas.
And while tourism provides a powerful economic incentive to protect the world’s wonders, it threatens their very existence. This happens, as UNESCO has underlined, especially in the small islands where thethe social and ecological environment is immediate. Just think of the island of Boracay in the Philippinesthe island of Komodo in Indonesia e Maya Bay in Thailand.
A difficult balance, but possible
To try to limit the consequences of tourism, countries, municipalities and regions have begun to take measures: some have introduced a entrance ticket as it happened in Venice and which, instead, moved the arrival of cruise ships away from the center, how Amsterdam. The success of these and other policies will be seen over time, but one thing is certain for UNESCO: a balance must be foundbecause overtourism will not disappear.
The goal and the challenge is find the right compromise and, to do so, measures designed to reduce visitors must be carefully considered, otherwise they can be catastrophic for communities where tourism supports local livelihoods. Finding the balance is a delicate compromise between effective regulation and planningwhile ensuring the community welfarewithout losing sight of the positive contribution of tourism.
What can we do to contribute?
Today, many of us have a privilege: we can travel much easier compared to the past. Traveling has become a simple and everyday act and, in our travels, we too can contribute to finding the right balance by making responsible choices. These can help limit the negative impact of tourism in the world, turning every adventure into an opportunity. In every trip we make we can give one sustainable responsebased on everyone’s possibilities, to the questions “where to go”, “when to go” and “how to do it”.
If we can, we can choose travel during the low seasona period in which many places literally empty; if because of the work we do, perhaps the work of the State, we cannot choose the least crowded months, we opt for the less popular destinations; between the train and the plane, when possible, we choose the train and, once we arrive at our destination, we choose to travel on foot or by bicycle.