From Prague to Barcelona, from Florence to Venice, mass tourism, promoted by money-hungry governments after the 2008 crisis, fueled by cheap flights and online room rentals, has now become an unmanageable monster. More and more cities are taking action. Is it now too late to intervene?
“Travel? I think it makes little sense unless you write books like Sylvain Tesson. Every place is inundated with hordes of voyeurs TikTok”. A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of interviewing Lawrence Osborne. The famous English writer showed a certain intolerance towards “twenty-first century tourism”, talking about going every year to Mongolia, to a friend of his who owns a lodge in the Gobi, where he can “riding horses and camping outdoors without anyone”. The infamous mass tourism, that is, that particular type of tourism – probably the 90% of tourism – fueled by “traveling for fashion” and not by real interest in visiting places or knowing their stories – has now become more of a curse than a delight for countries, governments and populations. If, on the one hand, the uninterrupted flow of hungry travelers allows certain cities to keep alive an otherwise unthinkable economic system, on the other, this perverse mechanism devours those same places. It makes them banal, soulless, empty. Simple objects to photograph and collect on the smartphones, and therefore on the social networks, of herds of tourists who are increasingly less travellers. Between business and loss of meaning in travel, however, the balance tips towards the economic side of the whole matter. Yes, because low-cost flights have democratized tourism, transforming the art of travel – once the prerogative of a few – into an amateur hobby, accessible to anyone. At the same time, the entire phenomenon has brought staggering revenues into the pockets of governments, airlines, large hotel chains and the increasingly numerous hosts of rental homes (and the online platforms that host their offers). Be careful though, because this apparent goose lays golden eggs it is rapidly taking the form of a black raven ready to feed on the carcasses of the “defeated by tourism” (read: peoples, art, culture).
Europe raises the white flag
Lhe latest protest against the demon of mass tourism has come from Spain. In recent days, thousands of people have protested Tenerife, demanding that the island temporarily limit tourist arrivals to stem the boom in short-term vacation rentals and hotel construction that is driving up housing costs for locals. Protesters said changes need to be made to the tourism industry, which represents the 35% of gross domestic product of the Canary archipelago, which however appears less and less capable of managing Overtourism. The archipelago, which matters 2.2 million citizensin 2023 it was visited by almost 14 million foreign tourists, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year. A bill expected to be passed this year that tightens rules on short-term rentals follows complaints from residents that they have effectively been priced out of the property market. “We are planning to close Plaza de España and make tourists pay for its preservation and security,” the mayor of Seville wrote in X, José Luis Sanzpublishing a video showing missing tiles and damaged facades.
The case of Italy
L‘Italy has already implemented a similar move. TO Venicestarting from last April 25th and on the most critical days (in conjunction with holidays and long weekends) between now and July, the Municipality will impose a tariff of five euros per person for entry into the ancient city. From Prague to Barcelona, from Amsterdam to Athens, mass tourism, promoted by money-hungry municipalities after the 2008 crisis and fueled by cheap flights and online room rentals, has now become a monster. And it has sparked a rush to implement methods – contributions for access to places and cities, time slots for group visits, limitations – to make it at least sustainable. Paris, for example, has almost tripled the rates of the tourist tax, going from 0.25 to 5 euros to 0.65 to 14.95 euros, depending on the area and type of accommodation. In France, moreover, 80% of tourist visits are concentrated in just 20% of the country. It is even worse in Italy, where 70% of foreign tourists flock to 1% of the territory. In Florence, another emblematic case of an out-of-control situation, the 720 thousand inhabitants of the Florentine capital annually clash with the weight of 16 million overnight stays registered by guest houses and private individuals.
The case of cases: Japan overwhelmed by Overtourism
THEHowever, the case of cases calls Japan into question. Here, in March, monthly visitors exceeded the three million mark for the first time in history. Tourism, a Tokyo and surrounding area, has been booming since pandemic border restrictions were lifted and the government has worked hard to boost visitor numbers. However, the phenomenon now seems to have gotten out of hand. In Kyoto, residents complained about tourists harassing the city’s geishas. Result: access to the small private alleys that attracted the interest of excited crowds was prohibited. This summer, just to give another example, hikers who want to use the most popular route to climb Mount Fuji will have to pay $13 each to reduce visitor congestion. The city of Fujikawaguchiko, in Yamanashi prefecture, has instead decided to build an enormous barrier (2.5 meters high and 20 meters long, like a cricket pitch) to block, at least in part, the view of the aforementioned Mount Fuji, in such a way as to limit the number of tourists – often disrespectful and confusing – attracted by the panoramic site present on site. The crusade against mass tourism has just begun.
