Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses the growing global issue of 'over-tourism,' where the excessive number of visitors to popular destinations negatively impacts local communities, environments, and cultures. It highlights how tourism, once seen as beneficial, now causes overcrowding, rising living costs, environmental damage, and a loss of authenticity in cities like Venice and Barcelona. Experts and residents express concerns about the unsustainable growth of tourism, urging for better management to protect cultural heritage and natural sites. The video calls for a balance between tourism and the preservation of local communities and environments.
Takeaways
- 🌐 **Overtourism Defined**: Overtourism is a situation where locals and tourists alike feel that a place has been overvisited, leading to a loss of authenticity for tourists and irritation for locals.
- 🏙️ **Impact on Locals**: Overtourism has led to increased cost of living, property price inflation, and displacement of locals from their neighborhoods due to short-term rentals.
- 🌍 **Global Phenomenon**: Overtourism is not limited to popular cities but also affects remote and fragile locations, causing environmental damage and local tensions.
- 📈 **Exponential Growth**: The tourism industry has grown exponentially, with a significant increase in tourist arrivals worldwide from 25 million in 1950 to 1.3 billion in 2017.
- ✈️ **Role of Low-Cost Airlines**: The rise of low-cost airlines has made travel more accessible, contributing to the surge in tourist numbers and the problem of overtourism.
- 🏖️ **Environmental Concerns**: Overtourism has led to environmental degradation, with increased waste and strain on natural resources in popular tourist destinations.
- 📰 **Media Influence**: Media often promotes the same destinations, leading to concentrated tourist flows and contributing to the problem of overtourism.
- 🚢 **Cruise Ship Issues**: Cruise ships are a significant source of environmental damage and contribute to 'fly-by' tourism, which adds little value to local economies.
- 🌆 **Urban Challenges**: Cities like Barcelona have been overwhelmed by the impact of overtourism, with local markets becoming tourist attractions and losing their authentic cultural value.
- 🏠 **Housing Crisis**: The surge in tourism has led to a housing crisis in many cities, with locals unable to find affordable housing due to the conversion of residences into short-term rentals.
Q & A
What significant change occurred in the tourism industry in 2017?
-In 2017, the concept of 'over tourism' emerged as a significant issue, with protests against mass tourism in Spain and other locations, highlighting the negative impacts of tourism on local communities and environments.
What does the term 'over tourism' imply?
-Over tourism refers to a situation where either local people or tourists feel that a place is over visited, causing a loss of authenticity for tourists and irritation for locals, ultimately changing the character of the visited place.
How did the events of 2017 impact Justin Francis' perspective on tourism?
-The events of 2017 made Justin Francis, who has dedicated his life to travel and running a travel business, realize the negative consequences of over tourism and the need for a more responsible approach to tourism.
What is the main concern of local communities regarding over tourism?
-Local communities are concerned that over tourism is leading to increased cost of living, loss of local culture and identity, and overcrowding, which is making their daily lives unbearable.
What is the impact of over tourism on the city of Venice?
-Over tourism in Venice has led to a loss of local identity, with traditional businesses being replaced by souvenir shops, increased property prices leading to locals moving away, and a general degradation of the community.
How has Barcelona been affected by the rise of mass tourism?
-Barcelona has experienced an increase in protests from locals, a transformation of local markets into tourist attractions, and a shift in local businesses to cater exclusively to tourists, leading to a loss of authentic culture.
What was the outcome of Thomas Eglee's visit to Gili Trawangan Island?
-Thomas Eglee found that Gili Trawangan Island had changed dramatically from a quiet paradise to an overcrowded tourist destination with significant environmental damage, including a hidden rubbish pit.
What are some of the factors contributing to the exponential growth of tourism?
-The rise of low-cost airlines, tax breaks for the aviation sector, media promotion of certain destinations, and an increase in global population and affluence have all contributed to the rapid growth of tourism.
What role do cruise liners play in over tourism?
-Cruise liners contribute to over tourism by causing environmental damage and promoting 'fly by' tourism, which adds little value to local economies and often overwhelms local infrastructure.
What is the estimated number of international tourist arrivals by 2030?
-It is estimated that international tourist arrivals will reach 1.7 billion by 2030, continuing the trend of exponential growth.
What is the call to action for governments regarding tourism management?
-Governments are called upon to accept the responsibility of managing tourism, recognizing there are limits to the number of tourists that can be sustained and implementing strategies to prevent over tourism.
Outlines
🌍 The Changing Face of Tourism
This paragraph introduces the topic of mass tourism and its shifting perception over time. While once seen as beneficial for both tourists and locals due to job creation, by 2017, this narrative began to unravel. Protests in Spain signaled growing resentment, as tourism was increasingly blamed for rising costs of living, environmental damage, and cultural disruption. The emergence of 'over-tourism' marked a turning point, with both tourists and locals expressing concerns about overcrowding and loss of authenticity in popular destinations.
😔 The Loss of Local Character in Venice
Venice is highlighted as a case study of how over-tourism affects local communities. Residents lament how their city is losing its unique identity, becoming more like a theme park ('Disneyland') for tourists. Short-term rentals have displaced locals, essential services have been replaced by tourist-oriented businesses, and the city’s infrastructure is struggling to handle the overwhelming number of visitors. Locals fear that Venice is losing its essence, with residents being forced to leave due to lack of affordable housing.
🏝️ Gili Trawangan's Environmental Decline
This paragraph discusses the environmental consequences of over-tourism on Gili Trawangan, a small island in Indonesia. Once a quiet paradise, the island now faces severe environmental degradation due to the influx of over one million tourists annually. The increased number of visitors has led to overcrowding and pollution, including a hidden trash pit that locals and tourists often overlook. Despite the enjoyment tourism brings, the negative environmental impact cannot be ignored, and the need for responsible tourism is emphasized.
🚢 The Global Backlash Against Over-Tourism
A global backlash against over-tourism is emerging as many destinations are overwhelmed by increasing numbers of tourists. From Thailand to Scotland, local populations are protesting against the environmental and social damage caused by tourism. Large cruise ships and cheap flights, driven by tax breaks and media promotion, are exacerbating the problem. Cities like Barcelona have suffered from skyrocketing property prices due to short-term rentals, pushing out locals. The unchecked growth of tourism is straining both natural and cultural resources worldwide.
🏠 Residents Forced to Leave Their Homes
This paragraph focuses on the personal toll that over-tourism takes on local residents in cities like Venice. Many locals, despite their love for their hometown, are being forced to consider leaving due to declining living conditions and rising costs. The prioritization of tourists over locals has led to a significant cultural and social shift, making everyday life difficult. Residents express frustration over the lack of governmental action to address these issues and are left contemplating whether to stay or leave their beloved cities.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Overtourism
💡Mass Tourism
💡Local Resistance
💡Touristification
💡Sustainability
💡Cultural Dilution
💡Cruise Tourism
💡Environmental Damage
💡Tourism Backlash
💡Tourism Industry
Highlights
Tourism, once seen as a benign industry, has now become a source of protest and unrest in places like Spain due to its negative impacts on local economies and living conditions.
The concept of 'overtourism' emerged in 2017, describing a situation where destinations are overwhelmed by visitors, leading to dissatisfaction for both tourists and locals.
Justin Francis, who has spent years in the tourism industry, reflects on the protests of 2017, which revealed a global backlash against unchecked tourism growth.
Professor Harold Goodwin explains overtourism as a situation where both tourists and locals feel the place is overrun, losing its authenticity and character.
An anecdote from South Africa illustrates how tourism can alienate locals, as an elderly woman felt objectified by tourists treating her township like an exhibit.
In Venice, locals are protesting the mass tourism that has turned the city into a 'Disneyland,' pushing out residents and replacing traditional businesses with tourist-centric ones.
Venice's fragile infrastructure and unique layout struggle to cope with the influx of tourists, and locals feel they are losing the city's identity.
Barcelona’s markets have become tourist attractions rather than places for locals to shop, shifting from selling fresh food to catering to tourists with fruit juice and other novelties.
Mass tourism is a global issue, with fragile locations like Gili Trawangan in Indonesia experiencing severe environmental and cultural damage due to rapid, unregulated tourist growth.
Photographer Thomas Eglee’s project documented the dramatic transformation of Gili Trawangan, which changed from a quiet paradise to an overcrowded tourist hotspot in just 30 years.
Environmental impacts of tourism are often hidden from view, with places like Gili Trawangan suffering from large waste problems due to the huge number of visitors.
Elizabeth Becker, author of 'Overbooked,' highlights that the tourism industry has escaped scrutiny and grown exponentially, with 1.3 billion tourist arrivals in 2017.
Cheap flights, fueled by tax breaks for the aviation sector, are a major driver of mass tourism, making travel more accessible but exacerbating the pressure on destinations.
Cruise liners, another major contributor to overtourism, cause environmental damage while bringing tourists who contribute little to local economies.
Airbnb and short-term rentals are pushing locals out of cities like Barcelona, with property owners profiting from tourists while housing for residents becomes scarce.
There is a growing recognition that tourism must be managed responsibly to avoid further damaging the world’s most valuable natural and cultural destinations.
Transcripts
[Music]
this is a story about tourism and a
world on the move tourism has been
widely regarded as a benign industry a
win-win for tourists and local people
who benefit from the jobs that the
industry creates
in 2017 everything changed the group
protesting against mass tourism in Spain
has threatened further attacks after
time tourists for driving up the cost of
rents and basic necessities the world's
largest cruise ship was embarked on its
maiden voyage from Barcelona to manager
so - that is the order tourism is the
toxic that's getting more and more
attention over to another
[Music]
my name is Justin Francis much of my
life and work has been dedicated to
travel my own travel has led me to
enriching experiences and a warm embrace
from local people for the past 17 years
I've run a travel business which allows
others to have similar experiences the
events of 2017 sent shockwaves through
the tourism industry and a new term
emerged over tourism I spoke to
Professor Harold Goodwin to understand
what it means I think over tourism is
actually quite easy to understand and
the reason the word is caught on is that
people understand immediately what it
means it means a situation where either
local people all the tourists feel that
the place is just over visited and that
it's changing its character so for the
tourists it loses authenticity and for
the local people it just causes
irritation and annoyance when that all
add additive this is your holiday but
this is my home it rings really true now
didn't you do you think that's I think
that campaign hit the nail on the head
we take our holidays in other people's
homes when I was working here in South
Africa back in 2000 or 2001 I went with
the Township operator in the back of a
small minibus into into kaliesha and he
wanted me to meet an elderly lady who
was trying to start a restaurant in her
house and it was an amazing experience
you know one of those privileged times
that you remember but I'd been invited
into our house we came out and there was
a big fifty seater coach parked outside
and the tourist rules stood up at the
windows shooting with a camera down at
us and she turned to me and she said
they think we're animals and that really
went home I just thought this is
appalling
yeah and that is over tourism
frustrated and appalled by such
treatment communities across Europe took
to the streets and turned against
tourism in angry protests I'm going to
try to find out more about what
triggered these outbursts what's changed
and why have many local communities had
enough of tourism
you
[Music]
it's a it's a fight every everyday it's
a fight we still survive but I'm not
with you know they call us the pandas or
anything the few left citizens there
must be a way to contain this okay there
is a maximum amount of tourists this
place can carry so this huge flow we're
getting every day it's just unbearable
every single day you find a problem you
know when you had to cross the street
when you had to buy something when you
to get the public boat it's kind of
destroying the community because
everything is case for tourists there
are more short let flats than permanent
residency for locals we don't have
enough flat for inhabitants so people
moving away because you cannot find a
place to live here losing people losing
habitants means losing the character or
the city you know it now is becoming
Disneyland all the the butchers the
bakers the pharmacies you know the dress
makers are all going and being replaced
by souvenir shops we are losing the
meaning of the city Venice is so
different from the other part of the
world the so fragile is so weak somehow
educating the visitors to you know
respect the locals respect the size and
and the layout to understand which is
very very unique as you see the gondola
yeah you should you should feel bad you
should feel that look at that look at
the mess Chaya Venice kayak they cross
in a in a place where all we going to
like cross and this is completely crazy
[Music]
the main effect that I feel this time
it's losing its identity which is
ironically what are the tourists come to
buy but it's gone you know
[Music]
it feels like the infrastructure can't
really cope with the amount of people
that we have here generally the
residents feel that the city is becoming
overrun by tourism and it's becoming
more of a city for the tourists actually
the residents who've been living here
for generations in the neighborhood I'm
living here now over the past seven
years has changed massively and it has
converted into a tourist neighborhood
and I cannot sleep I mean they just
forget about their behaviors right they
come here just to mean to do everything
that they cannot do in their in their
home countries here they call it el
Turismo Deborah Shira charisma Deborah
Tara is the drunken parties
[Music]
local markets in Barcelona have become
in a way the biggest victims of this
tourist massification as they are the
core of what is supposed to be authentic
culture they become tourist attractions
in their own right
so tourists go but they basically go to
take pictures they will not actually
shop as residents do they've changed
from selling food fresh food they've
just going to selling fruit juice I mean
just for tourists so everyone is just
changing shaping their mind to see how
they can make business out of tourists
and not offering value to local people
actually it's a vicious circle because
of course the more you develop the
industry the more the massification will
affect the tourist experience you know
because if numbers continue to sustain
ly grow probably very soon
Barcelona could die of Safed you know
Barcelona as a tourist
because it's so beautiful they had
people were suffocated the desperation
of residents and the protests which
followed brought the world's attention
to Europe but it didn't stop there
around the globe reports of overcrowding
environmental damage and local tensions
emerged and in some unexpected places
not only were popular cities suffering
but remote fragile locations such as
gili trawangan island in Indonesia were
raising their voices as well
photographer Thomas
eglee traveled to this Paradise Island
to document the dramatic changes tourism
has caused
[Music]
don't tell me about your project which
is your recent project which is a which
is like kind of personal one I think
yeah it all started with my parents
because 30 years ago my parents went to
Paradise Island which real name is gili
trawangan and it wasn't their honeymoon
and it's the most beautiful place
they've ever been to it was their
paradise their Paradise Island
so when there's thirty years later to
discover what happened to the island
because I already knew it changed yeah
when I saw your when I saw your work I
mean the before and after pictures with
the 30 year gap
I mean it's barely recognizable as the
same place yeah it's it's totally
different I mean it starts with how my
parents went to that Island
when whereas they just hired a fisherman
with little boats it wasn't even in the
tourist guides they stood with local
people and there was nothing else to do
them have a swim in the sea they were
like three or four people on that island
whereas 40 years later they're like
3,000 people coming on the dial and each
day so it's like over a million in one
year
Wow and all that on a really small
island now you can work how we can dive
and you party a lot there are a lot of
trucks everywhere yeah yeah but this
question is what can tourism calls if if
there are no limits yes but let's talk a
little bit about the cost because the
the growth in numbers that you've
described is extraordinary I'm guessing
that must have had some environmental
impact yeah definitely when you come on
the island you wouldn't see it but as
soon as you go in the middle of that
island you would see a huge rubbish pit
you don't really see it on the first
place
but it's all hidden there yeah I mean
some people listening to us might say
you know everybody's entitled to have
fun and enjoy themselves but you know
how do we respond to that that people
are entitled to enjoy themselves
everybody is entitled to enjoy
themselves and their good things about
tourism but what I think is important
that the city open your mind you know
you everybody
location you want to band out all the
problems you know you have problems in
your everyday life work job family
whatever I'm going to go to vacation
it's all no there is a rubbish pit but I
don't care I just look at the beach and
I think you have to open yourself also
due to that things even when your
invocation yes and you start to do small
changes in your behavior yes so it's not
about not going somewhere
it's about how he goes from yes sadly
this is just one of many examples in
what the Wall Street Journal described
as a global tourism backlash Thailand
was forced to close the beach made
famous by Leonardo DiCaprio's movie
local people in Japan increasing
described effect on their lives and
culture as tourism pollution some US
National Park started buckling under the
strain and Islanders on the other sky in
Scotland call for help after surges in
tourism
I spoke to Elizabeth Becker author of
overbooked to understand how tourism
could have reached this point what was
it that really drove you to want to
write a book about tourism I was the
International Economics correspondent of
the times the New York Times as
globalization was exploding around the
world what was not being covered and
what seemed to pop up to me all the time
was the fact that the tourism industry
seemed to be taking advantage of the new
open borders yeah
the new economic system the new
technology and I didn't see that
reported yes
I mean tourism is the industry that
seems to have escaped acknowledgement as
an industry or scrutiny is an industry
yes every everybody thinks that tourism
is a pastime yes it's not an industry
and a few governments treated it as an
industry it's also that the explosion of
the industry was extraordinary in 1950
there were 25 million tourist arrivals
worldwide
this number grew exponentially of the
following 70 years and reached 1.3
billion by 2017 it's estimated it will
reach 1.7 billion by 2030 deriving this
is the exponential growth of global air
travel and cruise line passenger numbers
it seems to me that what we're seeing
now all over the world is what happens
when an industry which has talked about
being sustainable but is actually dumb
very little
begins to bump up against the limits of
our environment and the physical limits
of space and it's in that sense I think
it's it's like a rash it's all over the
world I believe it's a global emergency
if we don't look more strategically at
the question of how to manage
destinations we're going to really
destroy an increasing number of the
world's most valuable natural and
cultural assets it doesn't matter if
there's a recession doesn't matter if it
looks like the United States is going to
start a war with North Korea tourism
grows and it is it is shockproof no
longer a harmless pastime tourism has
grown to one of the biggest industries
in the world with a far-reaching
potentially destructive impact here are
some of the key factors influencing this
change the rise of low-cost airlines
means that a return flight from the UK
to mainland Europe can be cheap as a
couple of pieces and a glass of beer
Ryanair even have stated their intention
to offer free flights but these super
cheap flights are the result of massive
tax breaks for the aviation sector
aviation fuel is exempt from tax in the
UK alone that's estimated at a nine
billion pound subsidy the media has
tended to heap praise on the same
familiar destinations and journalists
often receive free holidays when writing
their review
far too many travel writers are paid to
go to these places by the very people
they're supposedly judging there's
always a tempest never the 10 worst so I
found too much of travel writing I'm
critical and what we all want to visit
the same few places at the same time of
year this concentrates pressure on these
honeypot sites problems can be created
by an extra hundred tourists in a small
place one extra million in a big city
cruise liners are a source of
environmental damage and fly by tourism
which adds little value to local
economies they're like four times
taller than the buildings around them I
mean have you seen that coming in I mean
you just see and see that that doesn't
fit here literally it doesn't fit local
people are being pushed out of their own
neighborhoods by a huge surge in house
and flat rentals for tourists see cause
it's property price inflation its
reasons people the problem is when the
same owner has like 20 30 40 apartments
on the market it was so quick so fast
that cities like Barcelona have been
crushed by Airbnb changes in the global
population have fueled the explosion in
tourist numbers every day they were
quarter of a million more people on the
planet and as the world becomes more
affluent and more people join the middle
classes China now provides more
international tourists than any other
country and yet only 6% of the
population of a passport as the baby
boomer generation reaches retirement age
it looks like the pressure on
oversaturated destinations with the
phone
Treece do you think things are gonna get
worse before they get better in general
with with the over tourism issue yes I
think that's without question I read
that the Thailand new Minister of
Tourism said he really doesn't have any
idea how to manage the problem you know
and in a country that's a hot spot for
the problem yeah I mean that hasn't been
trained and he's he went public saying I
just I have no training for this I
became concerned I find it difficult to
find the right nexuses of dialogue right
now that that's what I'm a little bit
less optimistic about where's the nexus
of dialogue that's at the scale that we
need it now so you think the problems
gonna get worse before it gets better
yes yeah I do think that the problem
will get worse and unfortunately I think
in many places it will require
rebellious tourists if you remember
krippendorf talks about the need for
rebellious tourists and rebellious
locals well we need a bit of rebellion
by both those groups to retrieve the
change it won't just happen the
interests the tourism interests are
extremely wealthy and powerful it's as
any other power situation where there's
a lot of money being made so I don't
want people to beat themselves up but
you are up against some very powerful
wealthy interests who don't want this
change do you think that in some sense
tourism managers have been asleep on the
job
to see how much fuel has ever been any
tourism managers who is in control of
the tourism industry who has control
they are it I think that really no one
does well it's been a a while since I've
been thinking to give it up I love the
city a lot of the way to live here I was
the way we had to live here now is
getting worse and worse
we must be somebody would take decision
and that that's the problem
we don't have it I think all the
residents have facing this big question
mark the no matter how much we love the
city we consider our home we are
probably considering moving out to have
a simpler life with more services and
more comfort I mean I wanted to come
back here and I'm happy to be here
really happy and I'm happy that my
daughter is growing here but I don't
know how this is gonna end and I don't
know if I'm gonna be here watching that
honestly it would be nice if for at
least once
the locals were a priority and not
litoris you know out of respect for the
town in its history about how to respect
for people that want to stay here who do
not particularly want to take part in
the tourist machine and want to live
like Venetians you know just slowly
disappearing we're a bit of a an
endangered species if you like so I like
to say in the Venetian we travel to see
the world's most remarkable places and
people
however it's now clear that our travels
are having a significant impact and then
we bear responsibility for this
local people are calling time on the era
of unregulated and unmanaged tourism
growth it now lies with governments to
accept the responsibility of management
and to recognize there are limits to the
number of tourists that can be sustained
the struggle of local people versus the
power of the tourism industry is also
the struggle to remember the beauty and
diversity of our planet
it's the struggle of memory versus
forgetting and one we must all meet
[Music]
[Music]
you
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