The “post”-pandemic era has seen an incredible tourism boom. By the end of 2023, international tourism recovered to almost 90% of pre-pandemic levels (UNWTO, 2023). The UN World Tourism Organization indicates that tourism will recover and potentially exceed by 2-3% pre-pandemic levels this year. Last year, tourism contributed over 9% to the global GDP (WTTC, n.d.).
Understandably, tourism is globally a huge deal. However, unencumbered tourism is becoming problematic in many places across the world. Japan, where we currently are, is definitely one of them. In Japan’s case, the weak yen is also not helping with tourists flooding in for more affordable travel, accommodations, and food.
Overtourism, which is not a new thing but took a backseat to the rest of the world’s fires for the last half a decade, is what happens when too many visitors travel to a particular area. Too many depends on the place and many factors, but typically when too many people visit and locals can no longer get the goods, services, and housing they need, there is an issue.
Traveling is tourism. There was a small movement, probably before being ridiculed and meme’d out of existence, of people saying they’re “travelers, not tourists.” But there is no actual difference. I read an interesting take on this before that warned individuals to avoid labels because they might forget to be custodians of the places they travel. Anthony Bourdain, who may have started the whole thing, gave tips on traveling better that are interestingly close to those offered by Responsible Travel as suggestions for ways to combat overtourism. Whatever the label, the issues remain the same.
I read a very interesting article by Responsible Travel that highlights overtourism and how the travel industry, like many industries, focuses exclusively on growth. The recent focus on it is because the pandemic had put off the issue for some time, but as we return to preceding levels of tourism, we are reminded by the unsustainability of it. Communities and ecosystems are being overrun, damage is being caused, something should be done.
The article notes that individuals can travel responsibly, do their part to be a good traveler, look for off-the-beaten-path places to go to, travel in the off-season, use local businesses to keep cash in the local economy. But the article points out what I myself feel, the individual can only do so much. And even the most each individual could do isn’t going to change the industry or the problem.
Not traveling to combat overtourism is like switching to paper straws to solve environmental issues. It is a gesture, but without systematic change, it will not change the tides. Government legislature is required to curb pollution and increase corporate accountability; this is not different from overtourism. Comprehensive policies are needed to protect and preserve our most vulnerable destinations.
This likely means that traveling as I have been for most of my life may not be a thing for much longer. It already isn’t in some cases. When my dad was a teen, he could have traveled out to Utah and hiked Angels Landing in May, when the weather was nice and he was off from school or college classes. Today, hiking Angels Landing requires a permit and there’s a lottery system to acquire one. I haven’t won yet, though I’m still trying. If that is what it takes to avoid deadly crowding and destruction of the trail and beautiful canyon ridge, then that’s what it takes.
An interesting thing to note about this is that since I was born, the population in the United States has grown by almost a third. So, my dad may have been able to hike more freely when he was young because there were just that many fewer people. I think that part of the pressure on the individual to do better ignores the fact that there are also just a significantly larger number of people on the planet since the advent of international flight.
Who knows where the tourism industry will go. I spoke to a friend about lottery systems for popular destinations, and they believed it would likely become a pay to play system. Lottery systems benefit everyone; pay to play only benefits the rich. The industry revolves around money and has little incentive to implement fair systems. I can only hope that doesn’t come true.
I also don’t know what the future holds for people like me. Perpetual travelers. As hostilities grow against tourists, what happens to those of us who hail from nowhere? Will local governments take action to curb overtourism? Will those actions reserve tourism for only the wealthiest?
References
Responsible Vacation. (n.d.). What is overtourism? Retrieved from https://www.responsiblevacation.com/copy/what-is-overtourism
World Tourism Organization. (2023). International tourism to end 2023 close to 90% of pre-pandemic levels. Retrieved from https://www.unwto.org/news/international-tourism-to-end-2023-close-to-90-of-pre-pandemic-levels
World Travel & Tourism Council. (n.d.). Economic impact reports. Retrieved from https://wttc.org/research/economic-impact
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