Having the wrong type of tourism is as bad as overtourism
For the majority of countries, a big focus is on increasing the number of visitors. More visitors translate to more success. However, prioritising a quantity over quality approach can create an imbalance between the economic benefits of tourism with city livability. It can also lead to unrest within the local residents. “Heads in beds” is the name of the game. But now, several destinations are focusing on the high-quality or high-value visitors, which some claim is another description for a high-spender.
As a result of mass tourism, some destinations, especially mature ones are experiencing over-crowding or 'saturation tourism. While there are mounting concerns about overtourism, there is the unhealthy situation about one thing gradually morphing into another. Streets in several cities - especially those that are hubs for partygoers’ are seeing an increase in antisocial behavour that includes rowdy public drinking, peeing on the roadsides or people with their shirts off. A growing backlash against ‘the wrong sort of tourists’ has brought into sharp focus that destinations need to think more seriously about their identities.
According to “Hospitality Invest”, in October, Prague city councilors confirmed that they had banned night-time pub crawls organised by travel agencies because the city wanted to target “more cultured” tourists. It was a widely-expected move to bar guided tours between 10 pm and 6 am, with deputy mayor Jri Pospisil stating that Prague city hall was “seeking a more cultured, wealthier tourist...not one who comes for a short time only to get drunk”.
Last year, Amsterdam launched a campaign of ‘stay away’ adverts aimed at young British men, which was triggered by search terms such as ‘stag party Amsterdam’, ‘cheap hotel Amsterdam’ and ‘pub crawl Amsterdam’ and also follows a city crackdown on its notorious Red-Light District.
Amsterdam also recently implemented a “one-in-one-out” system for hotels. Meaning: a new hotel development will only be permitted to open when another closes, and any new property will not be allowed to offer a higher number of beds than the one they are permitted to replace.
Several countries in pursuit of travelers’ money often chase quantity over quality in terms of visitors - leading to overtourism and fueling a growing backlash with anti-tourism demonstrations as seen in hotspots such as Venice, Barcelona, Athens, Amsterdam, and Paris, to even faraway Alaska. The common complaints were that tourism per se, was not bad, but the imbalance was weighing heavily against the local residents who were being priced out of living in their own cities.
Consequently, the Galapagos principle - higher hurdles to entry, higher pricing and stricter rules such as, tourist taxes of around Euros 7/- to stay overnight; have been introduced in cities such as Paris and Rome. Venice which charged a Euro 5/- entry fee to ‘day-visitors’ is likely to double it next year.
Some countries, have begun chasing fewer but “higher quality” (or “high value”) tourists instead of raw visitation numbers. They aim to attract and support visitors who travel slowly and thoughtfully, engage with local communities and invest time and money in the places they visit in order to create more memorable experiences. This equates to visitors staying longer and spending more.
Secondary destinations are growing in popularity as travelers seek personalised, crowd-free experiences. Tourism boards of these countries are promoting these away from the crowds’ areas to help reduce over-tourism and encourage tourism dispersal.
The type of travelers we should want to attract to our destinations must be those who benefit the local economies and communities, while leaving a lighter footprint on the natural environment. A delicate balance of regulation and sustainable adaptation, where Domestic tourists as well as inbound tourists must both abide must be put in place. A kind of to tough - love mentality, as in parenting, where without structure and rules, a child can become unruly.
Shafeek Wahab- Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Customer Service Trainer and Ex-Hotelier
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