Tourism is the life blood of many countries, but intense concentration of tourists to “must see” sights is, negatively affecting both the attractions and communities that support them. Banning tourists has become a reality in some parts of the world, especially where preserving fragile natural environments is concerned. However all out tourism bans are clearly not economically viable. Countries around the world are getting creative and changing the way both tourists and communities function and interact. By refocusing what tourism is, they are also enabling the subtle shift for tourists to reimagine themselves as mindful travellers.
The idea for these destinations is not for tourists to avoid them, but just to spread the load to counter the traffic and congestion that envelopes famous attractions. There are obviously very established tourism operators in these areas who need the business and whole economies are based on annual tourist migration patterns. But the footprint of tourism is too highly concentrated. Its like we are dancing on the spot when there is a huge ballroom dance floor available to us.THE ANSWER FOR TOURIST-PLAGUED DESTINATIONS IS NOT TO UNDERSELL BECAUSE OF OVERTOURISM BUT TO ADOPT SMART STRATEGIES FOR MARKETING THE ALTERNATIVES THAT TOURISTS DIDN’T KNOW THEY LOVED. AMSTERDAM, BARCELONA, VENICE, AND KYOTO STILL CONTAIN UNKNOWN TREASURES AND UNBEATEN PATHS IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK AND WHEN TO GO. Dispersing visitors may of course only marginally shift the problem rather than solving it. If businesses in these “alternative destination’ neighborhoods aren’t fully tourism-ready or willing and able to accommodate visitors, a whole batch of counter productive problems arise.
Kyoto is in the news right now as people go there for Sakura or Cherry Blossom festival. Yes, the Japanese city offers these magnificent trees, but combined with its temples, bamboo forests and tofu cuisine, it becomes a big drawcard, especially for international tourists. Ironically, Kyoto is suffering the same fate that was the cause of its initial promotion as a tourist destination. Tokyo was experiencing overtourism and tourism bodies sought to funnel travellers out of the capital and into places like Kyoto and Osaka. And now they suffer the same fate.SKIFT REPORTED ON A SCHEME TO LESSEN THE TRAFFIC AND CONGESTION EXPERIENCE BY KYOTO RESIDENTS. IN AN EXPERIMENT ANALYSING CELL PHONE DATA, OFFICIALS WERE ABLE TO TRACK THE TIME OF DAY WHEN THE MOST CELL PHONES WERE PRESENT IN THE DESTINATION, WHICH WAS USUALLY IN EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON. ATTRACTIONS SUCH AS KYOTO’S NIJO CASTLE THEN ADJUSTED ITS OPENING TIMES AS A RESULT OF DATA GLEANED FROM THE EXPERIMENT. THEY OPENED EARLIER (AND OFFERED BREAKFAST), CLOSED LATER (UP TO TWO HOURS LATER THAN USUAL) AND EXTENDED THEIR OPENING SEASON INTO THE OFF-SEASON.In fact many attractions in Japan are opening early to ease congestion. Normal opening times for hugely popular Japanese department stores, shops and museums is typically 10am so opening just one or two hours can dramatically ease congestion. Machu Piccu, the famous 15th century Incan mountaintop citadel in Peru, is suffering from thousands of daily visitors and fears are rising about the Unesco World Heritage site’s ability to weather the footfall. In January, a ticketing system was introduced with the aim to spread tourists more evenly throughout the day and incentivise afternoon visitors by offering free entry to areas not open to those who visit in the morning.
Dubrovnik saw a steep rise in tourist numbers following the end of the region’s civil war in the Nineties. Instead of trying to deter tourists, local tourism authorities began staggering exhibitions and festivals throughout the year, effectively dispensing with defined tourist seasons and pushing the city as a year-round destination by. Again, it’s a shift away from tourist season to traveller opportunities.
The mountainous Colombian city of Medellin was once considered one of the world’s most dangerous locations until infrastructure investment for its residents opened up a new chapter. The city constructed cable cars to help residents get from their homes miles above the downtown core to the central business district, literally elevating public transport and stemming congestion. Medellin embraced a green economy and made biodiversity and sustainability the face of its tourism value proposition. Visitors can now avail themselves of more offerings outside of the city so that those attractions help prevent overtourism within its centre. One of the highlights is visiting a coffee plantation, picking your own coffee amid the clouds and learning how to brew the perfect cup.And while the green economy grows, city officials are doing just as much to promote all of Medellin’s creative industries such as arts, food and culture which constitute its “orange economy”. Without a vibrant orange economy, tourism can’t take root. More destinations are cultivating their orange economies in neighborhoods beyond their uber famous tourism districts to get travellers interested in more immersive experiences.
Gone are the days of uncapped tourist number goals. In recent years, overtourism has turned the destination marketing model on its head as many organisations realise their responsibility to manage visitor growth before it’s out of control. And that may come down to a less egalitarian approach. A small number of affluent travelers may become more attractive better than many cash-strapped tourists.
When you see phrases such as “Komodo is the new Ubud”, “Portugal is the new Spain”, “Bukhara is the new Angkor Wat”, “Ladakh is the new Everest”, “Sumatra is the new Borneo”, “Calabria is the new Amalfi Coast”, “Naoshima is the new Osaka”, “North Cyprus is the new Greek Islands”, “The Tatra Mountains are the new Swiss Alps”, “Puerto Rico is the new Caribbean”, you can be pretty sure that a campaign to counter overtourism is in play. If you want to be an active participant in undertourism, look for “not hot lists” and find a new and interesting alternatives to what everyone else is doing.