Overtourism and what to do about it
Overtourism: a symptom of capitalism
Overtourism is no accident, but a symptom of our capitalist society. With rising living standards, travel is becoming commonplace for more and more people. Easy package holidays, cheap flights, and tempting last-minute deals fuel the flow of tourists. And social media does its part, drawing crowds even to places that were once considered hidden gems.
The consequences are serious: housing becomes scarce, infrastructure is overwhelmed, and the environment suffers. The travel experience for visitors is also diminished by excessive crowds. Exactly when this "too much" is reached varies from place to place. A small village or a nature reserve with a sensitive ecosystem, for example, becomes overloaded more quickly than a large city. The situation becomes critical whenever tourism does more harm than good.
Overtourism puts pressure on housing.
In cities with already strained housing markets, tourism exacerbates the pressure. Hotel chains displace social housing, and platforms like Airbnb block housing for locals. More and more cities are now taking action against the latter. In Berlin, for example, the law against the misuse of residential property strictly regulates tourist rentals. Paris allows Airbnb rentals for a maximum of 90 days per year. Barcelona plans to phase out all Airbnb licenses by 2028, and in New York, accommodations may only be rented to short-term guests if the hosts themselves are present.
Infrastructure and environment under stress
Besides the housing shortage, excessive tourism is also altering the local infrastructure in many places. Traditional shops and cafes are giving way to souvenir shops and restaurants catering to tourists. As a result, authentic life is gradually disappearing – only the souvenirs remain as a reminder of what these places once looked like. And outside of the holiday season, these places often become eerily quiet.
Sunny, dry regions often attract large numbers of tourists, as they guarantee good weather for holidays. This puts particular pressure on regions already suffering from water scarcity. Additionally, sewage and waste disposal systems become overloaded, harming not only the local population but also the environment. Excessive noise is also a problem in many places – especially in popular party cities, but also in rural areas.
Measures against overtourism
State and municipal measures can help limit overtourism and create balancing mechanisms. In addition to the efforts already described by some cities to regulate Airbnb, these include:
- Tourism levies and bed taxes, the revenues of which flow into infrastructure and environmental protection.
- Visitor management and reservation systems for high-traffic tourist attractions
- Daily limits in particularly sensitive areas
- Funding programs for regional alternatives beyond the hotspots
Crucially, those directly affected by overtourism must have a say. Local residents should be involved in the planning and economic benefits of tourism activities – only in this way can understanding, acceptance, and long-term stable structures be achieved.
Good Travel: Tourism can be different
Despite justified criticism, it's important to remember that tourism creates numerous jobs worldwide and contributes to the preservation and maintenance of landmarks, traditions, and cultural landscapes. Ideally, however, it should be designed in such a way that locals and visitors alike benefit, and that the environment and nature are impacted as little as possible.
That's precisely the core idea behind Good Travel, our platform for sustainable accommodations. Environmental and social aspects play a particularly important role in our sustainability criteria. You can find more information here. hereMost of our accommodations are owner-operated, and you can get tips directly from our hosts on how to avoid crowds, experience something special, and leave as small a travel footprint as possible.
However, it's not just where you travel that's important, but also when – and how often. It's better to travel less frequently and immerse yourself more deeply each time. And those who travel in the off-season often save not only money but also stress – and get to know a region in a completely different way than when it's overrun with tourists.
You can find another article on the topic of overtourism here:
HOW OVERTOURISM DESTINATIONS ARE REINVENTING THEMSELVES IN THE CRISIS
Photos: Pexels / Carolino Portraits, Thomas Ronveaux, ch jawad, unsplash / Andri Wyss
Ina Hiester
Ina is a digital nomad and travels through Europe by land and sea. The journalist is always on the lookout for special places for Good Travel, philosophizes about travel in her column, takes photographs, makes music and writes articles on all kinds of environmental and sustainability topics.
Jan
Above all, the right people would be nice. You get the feeling that only extroverted self-promoters travel there, who only travel somewhere for likes and clicks. That's horrible, that's exactly what I don't want.