problems with tourism

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Last Updated: January 23, 2024

10 Primary Disadvantages of Tourism [Problems with Tourism]

Are you trying to find out about the main disadvantages of tourism? Read this article to learn about the biggest problems with tourism today, including the negative impact of tourism on the environment.

Danny Newman

Want to know about the disadvantages of tourism? In this post, I discuss 10 of them!

Travel is one of the best things in life, right?

Instagram-worthy sunsets, exploring new cultures, trying exotic foods — and tourism’s great for the host destination and its economy too.

Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of wonderful things that come with tourism. It can boost economies, create jobs, generate wealth, and support conservation efforts.

But have you ever stopped to consider the potential disadvantages of tourism?

In this post, I’ll dive into the impact of tourism on the environment, the economy, local communities, and much more.

I’ll also discuss what we can all do to be more responsible travellers.

Let’s get started!

Here we go, then: Let’s start with the environmental impact of tourism!

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The Environmental Impact of Tourism

To begin, let’s start with some negative tourism impacts that can occur to the area’s environment and ecology.

1. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Let’s face it — almost everything about our modern lifestyle contributes to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions.

Unfortunately, this also includes travelling.

In fact, experts estimate that as much as 5% of the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide are directly related to travel.

The most polluting type of travel, not surprisingly, is flying.

Planes account for 40% of greenhouse emissions within the tourism sector, with cars and taxis making up another 32%.

There’s also an environmental impact from hotel emissions too. Most accommodations still rely on fossil fuel energy sources to run air conditioning, heating, laundry services, pools, and spas.

In addition, companies need transportation and power to build and maintain hotels, clean up waste, and bring in food (and other products) from other regions.

Although some tourism companies are “going green,” many have not yet made the switch to renewable energy resources.

2. Overuse of Water

Sadly, 40% of the world’s population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water, let alone “extra” water for tourists to use in hotels, pools, and spas.

As an example, Las Vegas, Nevada lies in the middle of the desert and receives an average of four inches of rainfall per year.

Meanwhile, its residents (and millions of tourists) use a whopping 489 million gallons of water every single day .

In most places, the high tourist season coincides with the drier or less rainy parts of the year.

This compounds the issue as limited groundwater gets directed to tourist accommodations and attractions, leaving residents and farmers without adequate water.

In drought-stricken areas like Spain, Greece, India, Bali, and Zanzibar, this can spell disaster for the local population, increasing salinity in remaining freshwater and hindering farmers’ abilities to grow crops.

Now you know the first 2 impacts of tourism on the environment ,  let’s take a look at what’s left on the list!

3. Increased Waste Production

Did you know that one tourist can produce as much as 12kg (26 pounds) of solid waste per day ?

Why does this happen? Your guess is as good as mine. But here’s one theory:

Most people want to relax and take it easy on holiday.

Even if they adopt good habits at home like reusable bottles and shopping bags, chances are they aren’t doing those things on vacation.

Many parts of the world still rely on single-use plastic items, a lot of which ends up in the ocean and on the beaches that tourists visit.

Even in more eco-conscious places like Europe, the trash is out of control during peak season — there’s 40% more marine litter in the Mediterranean during the summer months!

Trash isn’t the only waste product, either.

While on holiday, travellers tend to order (and waste) more food, especially in restaurants and buffet settings.

There’s also the issue of sewage pollution, as well, especially in countries that lack the resources to properly dispose of it.

Sewage runoff that hasn’t been properly treated often ends up in the ocean, lakes, wetlands, and other natural areas, harming the local plant and animal life.

4. Loss of Biodiversity & Ecosystems

The rise of ecotourism is a two-edged sword.

On one hand, it increases awareness of the fragile ecosystems on our planet. On the other, it’s destroying them.

As more travellers seek to get closer to nature, destinations that feature rainforests, coral reefs, wetlands, and alpine forests are more popular than ever before.

Unfortunately, this influx of humans wreaks havoc on the very environments they’re hoping to admire.

To make way for more tourism, local governments may need to mine, pave, drain, develop, or deforest the area.

The results can include soil and sand erosion and the destruction of natural habitats.

Of course, development also leaves less space for the animals and plants that thrive in the area. Worldwide, an estimated 1 million different species are threatened with extinction in the next few decades.

In the following section, we’ll run through the social problems with tourism.

Potential Social Problems With Tourism

Until now we’ve focused on the environmental impact of tourism, but this isn’t the only potential disadvantage. Let’s switch gears and consider some negative impacts of tourism on society.

5. Displacement of Local Populations

Have you ever stayed at a five-star resort on the beach or pulled into port on an exotic island ?

Chances are that the pristine coastal area wasn’t just sitting there empty. More than likely, local residents had homes and businesses there that got “bought out” to make room for hotels, chain restaurants, and tourist attractions.

This displacement leaves less room for locals, often pushing them into crowded, poorer areas to make way for more tourism.

It can also erode the culture and identity of the destination as major corporate chains replace smaller “mom-and-pop” type businesses.

For locals who choose to work in the tourism sector, their jobs are often menial, low-paying, and seasonal, with little job security or opportunity for upward movement.

Too much tourism or too much tourist in one place is another tourism impacts our society…

6. Over-tourism

A word that literally means “too much tourism,” over-tourism is exactly what it sounds like — too many tourists descending on one place.

Prime examples include Thailand’s beautiful Maya Bay, the now-famous filming location for The Beach .

The fragile reef ecosystem and island were so destroyed by boat traffic, foot traffic, and plastic trash that the Thai government closed the island to visitors — for four years.

Other places notorious for over-tourism include Barcelona, Venice, Capri, Bali, and Boracay.

In fact, Venice went so far as to ban cruise ships from its historic centre and impose a “tourist fee” for day-trippers.

Why are governments taking such drastic measures against over-tourism?

Aside from the environmental problems that come with too many people in one place, it can also have a damaging effect on the locals’ ability to survive there.

In Barcelona, for example, many homeowners have turned their apartments into Airbnbs and VRBOs, driving rent prices up a shocking 51% in just a decade.

This has forced many residents into the (more affordable) suburbs while adding fuel to the problem of over-tourism in the city centre.

7. Exploitation of Local Cultures

We all love to travel to enjoy different cultures, but in some destinations, there’s a fine line between “enjoyment” and “exploitation.”

As more tourists visit an area, especially for cultural exploration, something called commodification often occurs.

This means taking an original aspect of local culture and commercialising it for mass consumption.

For example, in parts of Canada and the United States, tourists pay money to witness spiritual ceremonies “staged” by Native American communities.

At the same time, they buy themed items (such as totem poles or amulets) that hold deep meaning for the local culture but have been degraded to little more than cheap souvenirs.

In other areas, commercialising culture leads to locals wearing traditional costumes and putting on shows solely to entertain tourists.

For some people, this can be viewed as mocking important traditions.

Next up: other negative impacts of tourism we must consider!

Other Negative Impacts of Tourism

To round out our discussion, here are a few more potential disadvantages of tourism to consider.

8. Poorly Behaved Tourists

From stealing beach sand and slapping immigration officials to falling off statues after a night of binge drinking, the headlines are full of tourists behaving badly.

For whatever reason, some travellers feel free to act in rude, disrespectful, and even dangerous ways that they would never behave at home.

Even if they don’t get drunk and rowdy, tourists sometimes fail to show honour to the cultures and traditions of the country they’re visiting.

They may break rules or codes of conduct by dressing or gesturing in a way that offends locals. Or they may hold themselves in higher regard than the locals, perhaps even making derogatory racist remarks.

All of these behaviours increase hostility towards tourists and may even widen the socioeconomic gap in the region.

9. Foreign-Owned Businesses

In many areas, the majority of hotels, resorts, restaurants, and attractions are not owned or managed by locals.

Often they’re built and maintained by large foreign corporations and conglomerates.

As a result, most of the money coming into the country is being used for and by visitors, which can lead to significant losses for smaller, locally-owned businesses.

Because these local businesses miss out on opportunities to grow and expand, the country’s economy may suffer.

10. Unequal Growth of Infrastructure

Closely tied to the previous point is the problem of unequal or unfair infrastructure growth.

In many cases, the money coming into a tourist destination goes right back into developing and maintaining only the destination.

While the money goes back into the local tourism industry, other regions that desperately need improvement are neglected.

Rather than putting funds into areas that need more infrastructure — and improving the lives of local citizens — the government may choose to build more resorts and tourist attractions instead.

Last but not least, here are the 20 ways to minimise the negative impact of tourism.

How to Minimise the Negative Impact of Tourism

Our discussion is starting to sound a bit gloom-and-doom, so how can we put a positive spin on it?

We may not be able to solve all these problems with tourism overnight, but there are some things you can do to minimise your tourism impacts.

Here are 20 simple ways you can become a more responsible and respectful traveller:

1. Educate yourself about the local culture, etiquette and customs before you travel.

2. Stay at and dine in locally-owned establishments rather than corporate-owned chains.

3. Explore destinations that are “off the beaten path” rather than places known for over-tourism.

4. Learn (and try to use) a few words and phrases in the local language.

5. Act respectfully at sites of religious, historical, and cultural significance.

6. Reduce or eliminate your use of plastic and other waste products — reuse and recycle whenever possible.

7. Avoid travelling during peak tourist season.

8. Travel via train, bus, or other public transportation when possible.

9. If you must fly to your destination, choose direct flights to minimise your carbon footprint.

10. If you wish to travel with a tour group, seek out an eco-friendly company that employs locals and uses locally-owned accommodations and attractions.

11. Avoid “tourist trap” destinations and everything that comes with them, such as all-inclusive resorts, mega cruise ships, and commercialised cultural displays.

12. Never take “natural” souvenirs such as rocks, wood, or beach sand — not only does it destroy the environment, but it’s probably illegal.

13. Don’t buy souvenirs made from endangered species (i.e., natural furs, crocodile skins, tortoiseshell, etc).

14. Stay in one destination longer rather than moving around between many different areas.

15. Avoid using platforms like Airbnb or VRBO, especially in overtouristed areas.

16. Bring your reusable water bottle, drinking straw, cutlery, and shopping bags from home to reduce plastic waste.

17. Buy food from local markets and independently-owned restaurants rather than chain grocery stores.

18. Be mindful when you take pictures and always ask permission before you photograph someone.

19. Dress appropriately for the culture you’re visiting — this might mean covering your shoulders, knees, feet, or head.

20. Buy locally-made souvenirs from local vendors rather than those “Made in China” knockoffs.

Battling the Disadvantages of Tourism

Tourism can do wonders for local economies, but there are some definite disadvantages of tourism we can’t ignore either.

Environmental problems, pollution, exploitation, and displacement of locals are just a few of the problems with tourism we’ve discussed today.

We also listed some ways you can be a more responsible traveller and minimise your impact while you travel.

Would you like to take this idea of responsible travel one step further?

Read this article next and learn more about the benefits of eco-friendly travel!

Number of tourist arrivals

Somewhere on Earth this year

The World Counts • Impact through Awareness

The world counts impact through awareness, 45 arrivals every second.

There are over 1.4 billion tourists arriving at their destination every year. That’s 45 arrivals every single second.

Exponential growth of tourism

In 1950 there were 25 million international tourist arrivals, in 1970 the number was 166 million, and by 1990 it had grown to 435 million. From 1990 to 2018 numbers more than tripled reaching 1.442 billion. By 2030, 1.8 billion tourist arrivals are projected.

Negative environmental impacts of tourism

The negative environmental impacts of tourism are substantial. They include the depletion of local natural resources as well as pollution and waste problems. Tourism often puts pressure on natural resources through over-consumption, often in places where resources are already scarce.

Tourism puts enormous stress on local land use, and can lead to soil erosion, increased pollution, natural habitat loss, and more pressure on endangered species. These effects can gradually destroy the environmental resources on which tourism itself depends.

Tourism often leads to overuse of water

An average golf course in a tropical country, for example, uses as much water as 60,000 rural villagers. It also uses 1500 kilos of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides per year.

Tourism and climate change

Tourism contributes to more than 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with transportation accounting for 90 percent of this.

By 2030, a 25% increase in CO2-emissions from tourism compared to 2016 is expected. From 1,597 million tons to 1,998 million tons.

394,730,543

Tons of waste dumped

Globally, this year

Square kilometers of land area being degraded

793,184,608,700

Tons of freshwater used

Worldwide, this year

8,024,943,431

Tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere

The alternative: Eco-tourism

Eco-tourism offers a greener alternative. Eco-tourism is a rapidly growing industry, with potential benefits for both the environment and the economies of the tourist destinations.

Number of eco-tourist arrivals

• World Population
• The Consumer Economy
• Our Global Challenges
• The Project
• Keep the optimism
• Support green companies

What Is Overtourism and Why Is It Such a Big Problem?

Travel destinations are becoming too popular for their own good.

• Chapman University
• Sustainable Fashion
• Art & Media
• Definition of Overtourism
• Consequences of Overtourism

Can Overtourism Be Reversed?

• Machu Picchu, Peru
• Maya Bay, Thailand
• Mount Everest
• Venice, Italy

Overtourism happens when the number of tourists or the management of the tourism industry in a destination or attraction becomes unsustainable. When there are too many visitors, the quality of life for the local community can diminish, the surrounding natural environment can be negatively affected, and the quality of the tourists' experience can decline.

According to the World Tourism Organization, there were 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2019, a 4% increase from the previous year. International tourist arrivals have continued to outpace the global economy, and the number of destinations earning $1 billion or more from international tourism has doubled since 1998. Tourism is growing, and some places just can’t seem to keep up.

Overtourism Definition

Although the term itself didn’t appear until around 2017 (a writer at media company Skift is often credited for first coining it in the summer of 2016), the problem of overtourism is hardly a new one. The "irritation index," known as Irridex, has examined the change between resident attitudes towards tourists throughout different stages of tourism development since 1975. According to the Galapagos Conservation Trust, tourist satisfaction rankings have been steadily decreasing since 1990 due to overcrowding; the official guidelines for visitor numbers set in 1968 when the Galapagos Island National Park first opened had risen 10-fold by 2015.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization has defined overtourism as "the impact of tourism on a destination, or parts thereof, that excessively influences perceived quality of life of citizens and/or quality of visitors experiences in a negative way." Environmental consequences are a symptom of overtourism, and the recent boost in awareness surrounding the buzzword is simply because there are more destinations around the world experiencing it.

As for what exactly is to blame for overtourism, there are numerous factors at play. Cheaper flights are making travel more accessible, cruise ships are dropping thousands of tourists off to spend several hours at a destination without spending money locally, social media is inspiring users to get that perfect selfie at travel hotspots ... the list goes on and on.

Studies even show that television and movies can impact a place’s desirability. Episodes of Game of Thrones filmed in the historical Croatian town of Dubrovnik corresponded to 5,000 additional tourism overnights per month (59,000 per year) after they aired. Most of these tourists stayed under three days, packing the Old Town walls with day tours that increased pollution and put new strains on the 13th-century infrastructure.

Like so many others, the travel industry has focused too much on growth and not enough on environmental impacts. Rising awareness of overtourism consequences has inspired local and national governments to protect their commodities through sustainable tourism practices and ensure that tourism behavior isn’t damaging—or even better, can be beneficial—to the local environment.

The Consequences of Overtourism

Needless to say, the environmental consequences of overtourism can be catastrophic. Accumulation of trash, air pollution, noise, and light pollution can disrupt natural habitats or breeding patterns (baby sea turtles, for example, can become disorientated by artificial lighting when they hatch ). Both natural and local resources, like water, will degrade as destinations or attractions struggle to accommodate numbers they simply weren’t built to handle. And even as these spots begin increasing tourism development to keep up, they may turn to unsustainable land practices or deforestation to create more accommodations and other tourism infrastructure.

Sustainable tourism management is important since the number of visitors a destination is designed to handle is unique to each one. Short-term rentals may work for certain places, but they could raise rent prices for others and push out local residents to make more room for visitors. In Barcelona, 2017 saw 40% of tourist apartments rented out illegally, making it harder for the locals to find affordable accommodations—only one of the many reasons why the city’s residents organized protests against unregulated tourism over the following years.

It’s the same thing with the environment. Large crowds of tourists in natural destinations may drive wildlife to places outside of their natural habitats, disrupting the delicate ecosystem. In some cases, crowds can negatively influence fragile environments or create more opportunities for human-wildlife conflicts . 

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of positive aspects to tourism, however. When tourism is sustainably managed, it can be an incredible tool for protecting the environment. Admission dollars to natural areas or animal sanctuaries often go directly towards conservation and environmental education. Tourism can also strengthen local economies and help support small, family-run businesses at the same time. It’s finding that delicate balance between using tourism to fuel the economy while keeping the surrounding environment protected that often presents the greatest challenge.

What Can We Do?

• Plan your trip during the off season or shoulder season .
• Dispose of your waste properly (don’t litter) and bring along your reusables .
• Show respect for local customs and attractions.
• Explore areas outside of the most popular spots.
• Prioritize family-owned and local businesses.
• Educate yourself on sustainable travel practices.

In most places, overtourism is not a hopeless case. Destinations all over the world have already demonstrated ways to overcome the obstacles presented by overcrowding and unsustainable tourism management.

East Africa, for example, has turned gorilla trekking into an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime experience by issuing limits on daily permits, all while maintaining conservation efforts inside native forests and steady employment for local guides. In Antarctica, the Antarctic Treaty restricts the size of cruise ships that land there as well as the number of people they can bring ashore at one time; it also requires a minimum guide-to-tourist ratio while tourists are off the boat.

Local governments and tourist organizations, of course, are largely responsible for maintaining sustainability in the tourism industry, but certain approaches to mitigate the negative effects of overtourism can come down to the individual traveler as well. One of the best ways to become a responsible tourist is by looking outside of the mainstream travel destinations. Consider outer cities or less-visited attractions, or head towards more rural spots to avoid crowds altogether while experiencing a glimpse of a destination’s daily culture outside of the popular areas. There are countless places that want and need more tourists just waiting to be explored.

However, if you just have to visit that bucket-list destination known for its large crowds, consider visiting during its off season or shoulder season instead of peak travel season. Residents who rely on tourism as a source of income need support during the off season more than any other time of year, plus it will save you money as a traveler since accommodations and flights tend to be cheaper. Even better, off season travel puts less pressure on the environment.

Overtourism in Machu Picchu, Peru

John van Hasselt - Corbis / Getty Images

The tourist industry surrounding the famed archaeological city of Machu Picchu in Peru has been largely responsible for the country’s economic growth since the early 1990s. The number of tourists who travel to the 15th-century citadel has quadrupled since the year 2000; in 2017, 1.4 million people visited, an average of 3,900 per day. The site, which sits on a series of steep slopes prone to heavy rains and landslides anyway, is being further eroded by the thousands of visitors who walk the ancient steps each day.

The sharp rise in visitors, combined with a lack of management strategies, prompted UNESCO to recommend that the Peruvian state redraft its overall vision for the site with conservation in mind rather than primarily tourism growth. UNESCO threatened to put Machu Picchu on the “List of World Heritage in Danger” in 2016 if the property didn’t clean up its act.

Beginning in 2019, a new set of tourist restrictions was put into place at Machu Picchu, including limitations on visitors, admission times, and lengths of stay. Tourists are now limited to two daily time slots to relieve pressure on the site and are required to hire a local guide on their first visit.

Overtourism in Maya Bay, Thailand

First made famous by the movie "The Beach," the stunning turquoise waters of Thailand’s Maya Bay have been attracting visitors ever since the film’s release over 20 years ago. Seemingly overnight, the small bay went from a quiet hidden beach on the island of Phi Phi Leh to one of the country’s most popular destinations, bringing hoards of beach-goers along.

According to BBC reports, Maya Bay went from seeing 170 tourists a day in 2008 to 3,500 in 2017, resulting in the death of a majority of its coral reefs. By June 2018, the environmental depredations from litter, boat pollution, and sunscreen had gotten so bad that the government decided to close the beach completely for four months to allow the bay to heal. After the initial four months were through, the government went on to extend the closure indefinitely .

The extreme measure has brought a few positive signs for the environment there. About a year after the initial closure, park officials shared footage of dozens of native black-tipped reef sharks re-entering the bay . A team of biologists and local residents are also working on an ongoing project to plant 3,000 corals in the bay to increase the number of fish and improve the ecosystem.

Overtourism on Mount Everest

While we tend to think of Mount Everest as a remote and unattainable adventure, the destination has actually been suffering from overcrowding for years. Images of hikers standing in line as they try to reach the summit from the Nepalese side aren’t uncommon, and in a high-altitude environment completely dependent on oxygen, long waits can get deadly fast.

Those crowds also accumulate a lot of waste. Between April and May 2019, nearly 23,000 pounds of garbage was collected from Mount Everest, a Guinness Book of World Records in terms of trash. The trash was spread out almost equally between the main basecamp, nearby settlements, high-altitude camps, and the most dangerous portion of the summit route.

One of the most challenging problems lies in the economic value of Mount Everest, which is Nepal’s most lucrative attraction. In the 2017-2018 fiscal year, Nepal received an estimated $643 million from tourism , accounting for 3.5% of its entire GDP.

Overtourism in Venice, Italy

Venice has become the poster child for overtourism in the media, and for good reason. Over the years, the government has been forced to set limits on the number and size of cruise ships that spill visitors into the city, as well as a proposed tourist entrance tax.

The tourism industry hasn’t just resulted in an increased cost of living, but in a decreased quality of life for Venice residents. The local population in Venice has declined by two-thirds over the last 50 years, its cruise ship industry accommodating several hundred ship departures and 1 million passengers each year. According to Bloomberg, there were a total of 5 million visitors in 2017 compared to the resident population of just 60,000 .

In late 2019, when the city experienced a series of floods from record-breaking high tides, some Venetians argued that cruise ships were to blame . The wakes from massive ships were literally eroding the city, while widening the canals to accommodate larger ships throughout the years had damaged coastal habitats for wildlife as well as the physical foundations of the city.

Most of these tourists stick to the city’s most famous landmarks, concentrating large numbers of crowds into small spaces that were not designed to hold them. Its historic buildings and watery ecosystem, already fragile, are certainly feeling the pressure, while the influx of temporary visitors continues to inhibit locals from living their lives. As one of the most active cruise ports in the whole of Southern Europe, Venice is on track to become a city with virtually no full-time residents.

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Is Tourism Destroying the World?

Travel is transforming the world, and not always for the better. Though it’s an uncomfortable reality (who doesn’t like to travel?), it’s something award-winning journalist Elizabeth Becker   devoted five years of her life to investigating. The result is Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism .

I caught up with the author to get the inside scoop on the book, what prompted her to write it, and what she learned along the way, and this is what she had to say.

Leslie Trew Magraw: You made a name for yourself as a war correspondent covering Cambodia for The Washington Post . What prompted you to write this book?

Elizabeth Becker: My profession has been to understand world events.   I reported from Asia and Europe [for the Post ] and later was the senior foreign editor at NPR.   At The New York Times ,   I became the international economics correspondent in 2002, and that is when I began noticing the explosion of tourism and how much countries rich and poor were coming to rely on it.

But tourism isn’t treated as a serious business or economic force. Travel sections are all about the best vacations. So I used a fellowship at Harvard to begin my research and then wrote this book to point out what seemed so obvious: Tourism is among the biggest global industries and, as such, has tremendous impacts—environmental, cultural, economic—that have to be acknowledged and addressed.

Which country can you point to as a model for sustainable tourism?

One of the more ambitious is France , which is aiming for sustainability in the whole country. The key, I think, is that the French never fully bought in to the modern obsession with tourist overdevelopment. They have been nurturing their own culture and landscape, cities, and villages for decades. Since they have tied their economy to tourism, they have applied a   precise and country-wide approach that mostly works.

All relevant ministries are involved, including culture, commerce, agriculture, sports, and transportation. Planning is bottom up, beginning with locals at destinations who decide what they want to promote and how they want to improve. The French obsession with protecting their culture—some would call it arrogance—has worked in their favor. The planning and bureaucracy required to make this work would try the patience of many governments.

Now, even though the country is smaller than the state of Texas, France is the most popular destination in the world. Tourism officials told me one of their biggest worries is becoming victims of their success: too many foreigners buying second homes or retirement homes in French villages and Parisian neighborhoods, which could tip the balance and undermine that sustainable and widely admired French way of life.

Many destinations are making impressive changes. Philanthropists are helping African game parks find their footing. I was lucky to see how Paul Allen , for instance, is helping in Zambia .

Which country is doing it all wrong?

Cambodia has made some bad choices in tourism. It is blessed with the magnificent temples of Angkor , glorious beaches in the south, cities with charming overlay of the French colonial heritage, and   a rural landscape of sugar palms, rice paddies, and houses on stilts.

Yet, rather than protect these gems, the government has allowed rapacious tourism to threaten the very attractions that bring tourists. Tourism is seen as a cash cow.

Some of the capital’s most stunning historic buildings are being razed to build look-alike modern hotels.   In Angkor, a thicket of new hotels has outpaced infrastructure and is draining the water table so badly the temples are sinking—and profits from tourism do not reach the common people, who are now among the poorest in the country.

In addition, Cambodia has become synonymous with sex tourism that exploits young girls and boys. The latest wrinkle is to encourage tourists on the “genocide trail” to see the killing fields and execution centers from the Khmer Rouge era.

With more than a billion people traveling each year, how can we see the world without destroying it?

That is the essential question.   Countries are figuring out how to protect their destinations in quiet, non-offensive ways. They control the number of hotel beds, the number of flights to and from a country, the number of tour buses allowed. Some have “sacrifice zones,” where tourists are allowed to flood one section of beachfront, for example, while the rest is protected as a wildlife preserve or [reserved] for locals. Most countries are heavily promoting off-season travel as the most obvious way to control crowds.

Countries are also putting more muscle into regulations [governing] pollution. The toughest problem is breaking the habit of politicians being too close to the industry to the detriment of their country. Money talks in tourism as in any other big business. Luxury chains wanting a store near a major tourist attraction will pay high rents to push out locals. Officials fail to enforce rules against phony “authentic” souvenirs.

One of the worst offenders are the supersize cruise ships that swarm localities, straining local services and sites and giving back little in return.

What do you think will be the biggest challenge for 21st-century travelers?

Avoiding “drive-by tourism.” This is a phrase coined by Paul Bennett of   Context Travel ,   referring to the growing habit of people visiting a destination for a few hours—maybe a few days—and seeing only a blur of sights with little appreciation for the country, culture, or people.

One of the eureka moments in my five years of research was reading old guidebooks in the   Library of Congress.

The Baedeker Guides were written in consultation with historians and archaeologists who presumed the tourists wanted to immerse themselves in a country. They included a short dictionary of the language of the country and, only at the very end, short lists of hotels and restaurants.

Today it is the reverse: Guides have short paragraphs about history, culture, and politics and long lists of where to eat and sleep.

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My advice is to first be a tourist where you live. Explore the museums, the farms, the churches, the night life, the historic monuments—and then read up on local politics and history.

If you’re interested in volunteering overseas, first volunteer at home. Then when you’re planning your next trip abroad, use that experience as a template and study up on the destination you’re about to visit.

Don’t forget to try to learn something of the local language. It is a gift.

Q: Are there any tourism trends that give you hope for the future of travel?

A: People are again recognizing that travel is a privilege. Responsible tourism in its various forms—volunteer tourism, adventure tourism, slow tourism (where people take their time), agro-tourism (where visitors live and work on a farm), ecotourism , geotourism—all speak to tourists’ desire to respect the places they visit and the people they meet.   I think people are also recognizing that bargain travel has hidden expenses and dangers.

Costa Rica was an eye-opener for me; it deserves its reputation as a leader in responsible tourism that nurtures nature and society.

Finally, several groups including the United Nations World Tourism Organization have put together a global sustainable tourism council with a certification program to show tourists which places are genuinely making the effort.

Thoughts? Counterpoints? Leave a comment to let us know how you feel about this important topic.

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Tourism ‘intrinsically susceptible’ to climate shocks, political unrest, pandemic threat

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The President of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday highlighted the urgent need to boost sustainable and resilient tourism practices to protect the environment while continuing to benefit local economies.

Addressing a high-level meeting on tourism as part of the General Assembly’s first ever Sustainability Week , Dennis Francis said it was a vital driver of economic growth and empowerment .

In 2023, the sector contributed three per cent to the global gross domestic product (GDP), amounting to $3.3 trillion, and employed one in every ten people worldwide. For countries in special situations, like small island nations, tourism accounted for nearly 35 per cent of all export earnings and up to 80 per cent of national exports .

“Despite the spectacular benefits reaped across its vast supply chains – tourism is also intrinsically susceptible to a host of disruptive forces – such as climate change, pandemics, acts of terrorism, and domestic political instability,” Mr. Francis said.

Sustainable

He expressed concerns about the sector’s environmental and carbon footprint, saying sustainability must be paramount.

“We need a global tourism sector that is sustainable – one with deep local value chains that expand demand for locally made products and services in ways that also directly and positively benefit local communities,” he urged.

Moreover, he emphasized that the sector should also leverage digital technology to foster innovation and expand opportunities for jobs and economic growth, especially for women, youth, and indigenous and local communities.

“We also need a global tourism sector that is resilient,” said Mr. Francis, stressing the need to minimize its vulnerabilities and bolstering its ability to withstand external shocks.

This includes designing infrastructures that can withstand environmental disasters, fostering innovations that enhance economic and social resilience, and diversifying tourism activities to reduce recovery time after disruptive events.

Symbol of hope

Zurab Pololikashvili, head of the UN World Tourism Organization ( UNWTO ), also spoke at the General Assembly, noting that despite today’s pressing challenges, tourism offered a glimmer of hope.

Reflecting on the sector’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic – its most significant crisis in history – he observed that in 2023, international arrivals rebounded to almost 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels , with full recovery expected by the end of 2024.

This recovery must serve as a catalyst for bold action and transformative change, he said, emphasizing, “tourism can – and must – be a part of this plan for a better future for all.”

Sustainability Week

The high-level event on tourism followed Monday’s deliberations on debt sustainability , where speakers outlined the crippling impact of debt on developing economies, and called for urgent reform of the global financial system.

Upcoming highlights of the week include dedicated discussions on sustainable transport, infrastructure and energy.

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Overtourism: Causes, Consequences and Solutions

Overtourism : one of the words that people use most in recent years. In effect, more and more often, tourist destinations suffer from overtourism, tourism overcrowding . Places that everyone wants to see because they are “famous”. Movie scenes shot in locations (such as Lake Braies ) that now attract hordes of tourists looking for a short trip. Simply, they stop the time for a selfie and then leave for the next famous stage. This type of mass tourism causes pollution, the devastation of nature and distress of local populations. Let’s see in detail what is overtourism, what are its causes , what are the consequences , and what can be done to avoid it.

What is overtourism?

Overtourism is a neologism that indicates the overcrowding of tourists on a holiday destination. The term was first inserted in the Oxford dictionary in 2018 and nominated as the year’s word. Overtourism, literally “too much tourism” , is a complex phenomenon that we should analyze from various points of view. In essence, we could sum up the concept in one question. Is this place affected by the presence of more tourists than the place and the inhabitants can support?

When it comes to natural tourist destinations , tourism must respect flora, fauna, and microclimate. When the destination is a city , tourism must primarily r espect residents , as well as local culture and archaeological sites . The latter in particular are small microcosms blocked in time that tourism should protect. If this doesn’t happen, we talk about overtourism, or unsustainable tourism for the place, for nature, for the people who live there.

The Causes of overtourism

More than 1.4 billion people are moving around the world every year, and they are growing at an exponential rate. The World Tourism Organisation predicts that by 2030 the international flow of tourists will exceed 2 billion . This very high number of people focus on a few tourist destinations in the world, which suffer from the excessive presence of tourists . The causes of too much tourism are many. From the famous films that make tourist destinations famous to the ease with which you can reach any corner of the world. Also, we can name the cruises that bring large quantities around the seas. We talked about cruises and their environmental impact in this article .

Cultural tourism, a new trend

A trend of the moment is tourism i nfluenced by mass culture . According to this kind of tourism, people chose the destination based on social media , influencers, television programs and films. Tourism influenced by film and TV series products, also known as film tourism , has in some cases led to real disasters. An example is what is happening in the Pacific Islands : in Thailand at Maya Bay , where the film “The Beach” was shot with Leonardo Di Caprio. Over the years, tourists who wanted to see the film set invaded the small beach. This forced the Thai government to prohibit the entry of tourists to restore the delicate balance of the beautiful bay.

The increase in low-cost air flights and cruises is certainly one of the causes of Overtourism.

The numbers published by the World Tourism Organisation (Unwto) speak for themselves. Even in Italy , we have examples of how mass tourism damages the nature and residents of cities invaded by travelers. Venice , for example, is visited by about 20 million people a year. A number a little too high for such a delicate city, devastated also by cruise ships causing pollution .

Even Florence , Capri and the Cinque Terre National Park in Liguria suffer from the excessive number of tourists arriving every year. This influx is leading the administrations of the various Italian municipalities to take steps to limit the number of revenues.

Consequences of overtourism

1 destruction of natural ecosystems.

The flora and fauna are usually the first to suffer overtourism in the most popular natural tourist destinations. In some natural destinations, environmental issues led to the destruction of entire ecosystems. Among these problems, we can mention deforestation, exploitation of the soil and pollution . But also, no policy of raising awareness and protecting natural environments. In some cases, this situation has no possibility of redemption, such as, for example, what happens to coral reefs around the world. As global warming and tourists irreparably ruined them, corals are part of a natural system that is becoming extinct.

2. Increase in the amount of waste

Another consequence of mass tourism is the large accumulation of waste that people don’t differentiate. Inevitably, it creates a major environmental problem of disposal and pollution.  Boracay Island , in the Philippines, has been closed to restore the ecosystem after years of uncontrolled tourism. The waste problem is also very important on the island of Bali , which is trying to combat it thanks to the thought of Zero waste Bali.

3. Escape and malaise of residents

Too much tourism affects mainly the locals. Across Europe, in cities like Barcelona or Venice, the phenomenon of overtourism has unleashed strong tensions from the inhabitants.  Residents complain about the rising of housing prices and rentals. In effect, they inflated them due to the spread of online platforms such as Airbnb. But also, they talked about the disappearance of small shops, replaced by tourist shops, and the inviolability of their cities. The last consequence is the escape of residents from their cities, which have become tourist theatres, thus losing their authenticity.

Solutions to overtourism for destinations

As tourist flows around the world increased, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has dedicated an entire Report to overtourism. Certainly, there is not one single solution, but many small things that we can do during our holidays . The Report thus proposes 11 strategies and 68 measures to combat excessive tourism.

Here are the 11 suggestions that tourist destinations can follow to counter the phenomenon of overtourism.

• Encourage the dispersion of tourists within the city, and even beyond the territory, suggesting the visit of lesser-known destinations and less touristic areas.
• Promote tourism in different periods (for example out of season) and at different times from the most popular.
• Create new and different itineraries and tourist attractions.
• Review and improve regulations , such as closing some overcrowded areas to traffic.
• Attract more responsible types of travelers.
• ensure the benefits of tourism to local communities, for example by increasing the number of inhabitants employed in tourism, and by involving residents in the creation of tourism experiences.
• Develop and promote experiences in the city or territory that benefit both tourists and residents.
• Increase the infrastructure and services of the resort.
• Involve the local community in tourist decisions and choices.
• Educate travelers and tell them how to be more responsible and respectful of the place.
• Monitor and measure changes.

And what can we do?

With Ecobnb we promote responsible tourism , avoiding overcrowded famous destinations and promoting the close destinations. Often we don’t know what surrounds us and which beauties we can find without necessarily taking planes that emit huge amounts of CO2. Slow and sustainable tourism offers authentic locations. These places enrich local communities and those who invest in eco-sustainable activities. The real holiday could also be for you the relaxing and unplugging holiday. You could simply recharge the energies in contact with nature. Nonetheless, remember to try and lessen as much as possible for your environmental impact.

The good news is that each of us can do our part to counteract overtourism and promote sustainable tourism.

Here’s your vademecum

Here are 5 simple ideas , a vademecum, to promote quality tourism, instead of quantity, every time we travel.

• Avoid air flights and cruises, move by train and public transport whenever you can.
• Don’t take your decisions following the mass. If everyone goes to the mountains on August 15, why don’t you choose a different date?
• Organize your holidays in an alternative way, choose authentic and less touristy destinations .
• Travel out of season : spring and autumn are beautiful and less expensive seasons.
• Respect the places you visit (here you find 40 tips to travel green ), try to live like a local”, immerse yourself in the culture of the place and make friends with the inhabitants.

Cover image: photo by Elizeu Dias via Unsplash

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The Negative Environmental Impacts of Tourism

The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. On a local, national, and international level, tourism is economically and environmentally significant actor that has great power to affect the future development.

Tourism has the capacity to help support communities and instigate positive environmental change when done with the right approach towards the long-term sustainability in regions and complying with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals that range from eradicating hunger, gender equality to addressing climate actions based on the specific regional needs.

We can see the rise of the positive trend in the last years. Ecotourism and sustainable tourism have gained popularity in the industry but there are still many areas where improvements need to be done. If the number of tourists in a given area is greater than the capacity of the local environment or supporting infrastructure (which is the case of many popular destinations), negative impacts quickly arise and can become overwhelming for the system.

As we embark on new adventures in foreign countries it’s important to realize what environmental impacts our presence poses to local ecosystems and resources. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the three negative environmental impacts of tourism are: the depletion of natural resources, pollution and physical degradation of ecosystems. We will look at these more in detail now.

How does tourism affect the environment? The negative environmental impacts of tourism

Tourism sector has great influence over wellbeing of local residents. It is an industry that flourishes in large cities as well as remote rural areas rich in natural wonders. For many distant communities, tourism is the only opportunity of generating sufficient income to sustain their lifestyle and traditions. It can bring lot of good to regions, but also lot of bad – fast degradation, extinction, and depletion, if not done with the long-term planning and preservation in mind.

In some situations, it is difficult to realize this negative influence until its too late. We already have a few negative examples and data to look at to see the degrading tendency.

#1 The depletion of natural resources

The depletion of natural resources is a growing concern especially in places where resources are already scarce. Water, in particular, is considered a critical resource which is greatly misused in the tourism sector.

I. Water overuse

In many popular tourist destinations, water is overused by tourists in hotels, for breathtaking swimming pools and luxurious wellness areas. When on vacation, most travelers tend to use much more water for personal use than at home, resulting in larger quantities of wastewater and creating water shortages which affect local residents.

The high tourism season goes usually against the natural water cycle of an area and doesn’t consider years with insufficient rainfall – a problem that is on the rise due to climate shift. The driest months of the year are the months of peaking demand for water in resorts and areas of a special tourist interest. These places get crowded with people who expect to have unlimited accessibility to clean water supply from local sources.   

This creates many problems for residents in not having enough water for basic daily needs, as groundwater is often redirected and overdrawn by large hotels, resulting in drying wells of small communities, and increasing salinity of the remaining water table from dissolved minerals in the soil. Additionally, many small farmers struggle with not having water to grow crops – especially during drier years when it hasn’t rained for months.

A special report on Water Equity in Tourism from 2012 mentions a sad statistic. Globally, almost 900 million people still lack access to clean water and 2 million people (mostly children) die every year due to the health problems arising from this hindered access. These numbers include people from countries with popular destinations, mainly in the Global South or Mediterranean.

Zanzibar, Bali, India, but even Greece and Spain are suffering of these consequences. In Zanzibar, an average household consumes a little over 93 liters of water per day, while an average consumption per room in a guesthouse is 686 liters. That is 7 times more. But the difference is even bigger when it comes to a luxurious 5-star hotel room. The consumption rises to unbelievable 3,000+ liters of water per day [3] .

Tourism and agriculture compete for water also in Spain. Spain is important producer of vegetables and fruits for the rest of Europe. The intensive agriculture and greenhouse cultivation requires water to keep up with the demand. At the same time, the country is one of the world’s leading tourist destinations with great demand for water despite the fact that the country has been drought stricken for a couple years in a row due to climate change [4] . Both of these important economic sectors are standing against each other in an unsustainable way.

II. Other resources

The tourism industry depends upon consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources that are available at a given location. This includes variety of minerals, metals, and biomass resources. The industry burns higher amounts of fossil fuels and therefore produces greenhouse gases; affects health of fertile soils needed to grow enough food, and hurts whole ecosystems like, for example, forests or biodiverse  wetlands , and this way the impacts reach even the local wildlife. When more recreational facilities are built, natural habitats with their riches are destroyed and animals are driven away into scarce natural areas or conflict with other human projects.

Land resources, such as forests, are affected when trees are used for building materials or collected for fuel. Tourist attractions and accommodations are heavily reliant on energy for heating, provision of hot water and electricity. That is where the energy demand actually follows the same pattern as water consumption.

Imagine a town like Venice. The town has 271 thousand permanent residents [5] but welcomes every year increasing number of tourists. In 2003, 2.75 million tourists visited the town, while in 2019 this number has risen to 5.5 million [6] . Each visitor consumes energy and resources of the town, further contributing to environmental problems linked with the use of fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources.

#2 Overconsumption & Waste production, incl. food waste

What is the most common image of a nice vacation at some beautiful beach town? Good food, drinks at the beach, little refreshments, and attractive sights with a variety of relaxing activities for everyone. When on vacation, most of us want to forget daily responsibilities. This includes meal planning or carrying with us that refillable water bottle or other long-term use items like quality slippers or reusable shopping bags.

When indulging on that new experience, many rely on single-use plastic items that are fast to dispose. In fact, tourists can produce twice that much waste in a day than long term residents. It has been estimated that the marine litter in the Mediterranean increases by up to 40 percent during the peak season [8] .

UNEP estimates that one guest can generate from between 1 to 12 kg of solid waste per day when visiting a new place [9] . The numbers vary based on many factors – location, the type of accommodation, personal preferences, and a character of the stay. Based on the predictions, we would see an increase of 251 percent in solid waste production due to tourism through 2050, if countries do not adopt sustainable practices of addressing product cycle and waste disposal.

Tourists also tend to be more reckless with food. Such behavior contributes to food wasting which is a large problem on its own .

However, waste directly produced by a tourist is not the only waste coming from popular destinations. Large portion of solid waste originates from the background services for tourists – laundries, restaurants, wellness, entertainment and accommodations.

Solid waste and littering can degrade ecosystems and alter the physical appearance of the landscape.  Marine litter harms marine life, often leading to their death, and degrades sensitive and unique, yet vital, ecosystems.

As more tourism facilities are built, sewage pollution also increases. Sewage runoff in seas and lakes damages terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including vulnerable coral reefs which are often the main attraction of a place. Pollution of waterways in any way can stimulate excessive growth of algae, leading to eutrophication, and alter salinity and siltation of water bodies. These are changes to the environment make it difficult for native plants and animals to survive.

#3 Pollution

Pollution in the tourism industry comes in many forms: increased emissions linked to transport and higher need of energy, solid waste as mentioned in the paragraph above, sewage, oil and chemical spills, but even the less talked about noise and  light pollution .

One of the reasons why newly hatched sea turtle babies get confused and head in the opposite direction of water, are the artificial lights we installed along coastlines. Baby turtles have strong instinct to follow the light to guide them to the sea where their life journey begins. In nature, the moon reflection on the water was the brightest point on the beach. Nowadays, however, lamps, bars and other lights shine brighter at night and easily confuse the hatchlings to head in the wrong direction and often lose their life because of that.   

Noise pollution arises from transportation and recreational vehicles such as snowmobiles and jet skis. Noisy tourist destinations and thoroughfares can disturb and distress wildlife, especially in sensitive ecosystems that are often the reason why tourists visit the location in the first place.

Cruise ships are among the top polluters. These “floating cities” make extra noise in deep waters and migration routes of many aquatic mammals who are highly sensitive to noise levels in their serene environment. But that’s not all. Cruises release high amounts of raw sewage and waste of passengers directly into the water. Unfortunately, their practices of dealing with waste are not transparent and are corrupt. At the same time, these giant ships burn fossil fuel and release pollutants in the air, including excessive amounts of carbon dioxide [9] .

Scientists have also found that bacteria originating from sewage contamination of coastal waters affect coral reefs in numerous locations and is clearly linked to increased popularity as tourist destination. One badly affected example is the Mesoamerican Reef. The Reef has already lost 80 percent of corals to pollution released from insufficient infrastructure of trending destinations, such as Cancun, Tulum or Playa del Carmen, that host increasing numbers of tourists. The main problem here is too fast development of luxurious resorts without specific plans for upgrading wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure. Unfortunately, this is a common issue of many special locations of natural beauty.        

#4 Greenhouse gas emissions and contribution to global warming

Most human activities that encompass modern lifestyle contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Add to this travel to some exotic destination half-way across the globe and the number grows even bigger, adding up large chunk to our carbon footprint. In total, tourism accounts for more than 5 percent of global emissions of carbon dioxide. This number has been growing steadily and made up around 1,600 million tons of CO2 in 2016 [10] .

According to a report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the transport is responsible for 75 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in tourism. Air, road, and rail transportation are the main means of travel among tourists. The most polluting form of travel in terms of emissions are the flights – airplanes accounted for 40 percent out of total CO2 emissions in tourism sector in 2005 – especially due to low prices of flights that made this way of travel accessible to masses. The next significant polluter were cars with 32 percent [10] .

Energy consumption to provide services tourists expect is the next large CO2 contributor after the transport. Most accommodations still rely heavily on fossil fuel energy to run air conditioners, water and room heating and other basic or extra services (spas, pools) that consume lot of power. Unfortunately, the burning of fossil fuels has impacts globally and contributes to  climate change .

Energy and transport are both needed even when new resorts are built, or to bring diversity of food to offer to guests, to pick up solid waste, or to clean and maintain recreational areas. Carbon dioxide is not the only gas emitted in the air during these processes, other potent greenhouse gasses such as methane or nitrous oxide are as well. The contribution of tourism to climate change is significant and will grow unless switch to renewable energy is made.

#5 Soil erosion and unsustainable land use

Reckless development and fast expansion of infrastructure, insufficient infrastructure like for example not enough parking spots and cars parked on the edges of roads, too crowded natural sites, disrespect of rules (stepping off the path) can easily kickstart erosive processes and speed up degradation of sites.     

Tourism and recreational activities often change soil properties, especially if the number of tourists is greater than the ecosystem capacity to deal with it. In the most visited places, tourists trample the vegetation around trails, slowly creating larger patches of vegetation free surface. Frequently walked trails become compacted, which leads to the decreased soil permeability and higher surface runoff. The combination of these factors then results in progressively eroding trails and areas around them as people try to avoid slippery or muddy surface of the main trail.

The same scenario happens when off-road biking, horse riding, having fun with ATVs or parking cars on the side of the road.

Construction sites of new resorts or their expansion into surrounding natural areas, coastlines or on the mountain sites is a big contributor to erosion. Many projects begin by removing vegetation, which affects the ability of soils to absorb water, often leaving soils exposed and vulnerable for many years before the project is finished.

 Impervious surfaces of roads, parking lots or around accommodation units do not allow water to infiltrate into the ground. This increases the surface runoff which washes off fragmented pieces of soil even faster. In some locations, spaces between buildings create pathways for wind that magnify its erosive power.

#6 Physical degradation of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity

It is estimated that the average rate of expansion of tourism is 3 percent in developed countries and can be up to 8 percent in developing countries [11] . The industry has many physical impacts on the environment where growth happens, and more short-term visitors come by to admire the place. Many popular tourist sites are located in areas of sensitive ecosystems. Ecosystems such as rain forests, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs , sea grass beds and alpine regions are often threatened because they are attractive places to developers and tourists who seek the special feeling of a close contact with nature’s wonders.

Construction and infrastructure development can include extensive paving, sand mining, wetland draining, marine development and deforestation. Unsustainable land use practices can lead to sand dune and soil erosion and the deterioration of the landscape.

Not only is the physical environment under threat but living organisms and their natural cycles are also altered. Ecosystem disturbance can lead to destruction in the long term. Poor building regulations and land use planning can also alter the aesthetic appeal of the local environment. This puts a strain on both the natural environment and indigenous structures of the area.

Around the world are many ecotourism activities and sustainable tourism businesses that keep environmental values at the heart of their business practices. Conventional tourism businesses on the other hand don’t always consider natural resources, pollution and environmental degradation.

Before you jet off on your next travel adventure be sure to take some environmental values with you. To reduce your ecological footprint as a tourist be sure to conserve the amount of water you use, dispose of waste appropriately, tread lightly on the land, and become aware of the local ecosystems you choose to visit. Wherever you may go in the world do your best to support green businesses and minimize your impact on the environment.

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Greentumble was founded in the summer of 2015 by us, Sara and Ovi . We are a couple of environmentalists who seek inspiration for life in simple values based on our love for nature. Our goal is to inspire people to change their attitudes and behaviors toward a more sustainable life. Read more about us .

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5 Mega Challenges Facing the Global Travel and Tourism Industry

The global travel and tourism industry sits smack in the eye of a perfect storm. On the one hand, demand is up. Planes are packed. Our wanderlust is lustier than ever. On the other hand, rising inflation, lagging infrastructure, geopolitical uncertainty, staffing shortages, and COVID’s lingering impact have all converged into the stuff of nightmares — for travelers and the travel industry alike.

As researchers and advisors to global tourism boards and brands across the travel and tourism ecosystem, we are seeing some of these challenges hit certain players harder than others. On the bright side, recovery is on the horizon. But some geographies and industry sectors will face steeper challenges as five major headwinds converge upon them. We’re seeing opportunities for brands to get ahead of the storm and put the wind at their back.

These are the top five challenges facing the travel and tourism industry today, along with our perspective on navigating the way forward.

Travel Insight #1: Inflation means trade-offs and discretionary travel may lose out

Just when tourism was on the rebound, rising inflation came nipping at the heels of a travel boom. Escalent’s forthcoming 2022 Holiday Shopping & Travel Study revealed only 42% of consumers feel confident they’ll achieve their 2022 holiday travel plans (down 24 percentage points from 2021), and 49% of consumers are uncertain their holiday plans will be achieved (up 23 percentage points from 2021).

For the travel and tourism industry, inflation is a huge concern since it drives up product prices and affects consumers’ willingness to spend on discretionary travel. According to Euromonitor, 63% of travel executives said inflation was having a moderate to extensive impact on their businesses. Subsequently, over half of global travel companies acted in kind, by raising all or some of their prices. This was even higher in the Americas, where 59% of the companies raised all or some of their prices. Meanwhile, 44% of businesses accepted that they would suffer from having a lower profit margin by absorbing the inflationary costs rather than passing them on to their consumers to limit impact on their travel plans.

During inflationary times, it is common to see brands cut back on their marketing and advertising spend. While this reduces costs short term, it can be a setback to building long-term brand trust. In times of uncertainty, consumers tend to gravitate towards certainty, something a trusted brand can confer. And a destination is a brand. The more trust you can build amid uncertainty, the better.

Travel Insight #2: The ripple effects of geopolitical disruption

Geopolitical instability is also a key concern for the travel and tourism industry. The outlook for global travel and tourism for inbound spending is expected to be at 45% of 2019 levels, according to Euromonitor’s travel forecast model. The war in Ukraine is estimated to have caused a $7 billion decline in global inbound tourism, while Russian outbound tourism has all but collapsed under economic sanctions, airspace closures and flight bans. The loss of big-spending Russian visitors will impact travel destinations globally, but especially in Europe, the Caribbean and Turkey.

What happens when your high-value source market can’t travel? The ripple effects of geopolitical disruption are felt across regional clusters, forcing travel and tourism entities to rethink their source markets and reset their tourism marketing and targeting strategy.

Travel Insight #3: The travel and tourism infrastructure is in trouble

The pent-up travel demand is causing additional strain on the existing infrastructure, particularly for the airline sector. Problems with safety protocols and compliance with new national and international health standards are predicted to be made worse by capacity constraints when the industry recovers. This is expected to result in (even) longer lines, (more) crowded terminals and operational bottlenecks.

Social distancing measures have been lifted in many countries, including the US. But measures are still in place in many airports around the world, thus reducing airport capacity. Airports that operated close to their saturation capacity before the COVID crisis can expect to reach their maximum saturation capacity at just 60%–75% of their pre-COVID peaks.

According to ACI World, as air transport demand recovers, passenger demand will put more pressure on existing airport infrastructures. This may have socio-economic consequences, if not addressed in time. If long-term capacity constraints are not addressed through capital investments, it is estimated to lead to a reduction of up to 5.1 billion passengers globally, by 2040. For every million passengers that airports cannot accommodate due to airport capacity constraints in 2040, there would be 10,500 fewer jobs and 346 million USD less in GDP contribution from the industry.

Airports are often the “first impression” of a destination. A traveler’s airport experience sets the stage for the rest of the journey. When greeted with chaos and delays, even the most intrepid traveler can sour on the experience. Recently the US has made modest steps towards infrastructure improvement, including the Infrastructure Investment Act passed in November 2021, which includes spending for airports. While its impact will not be immediately felt, many travel associations have applauded the passing of this long overdue legislation.

Travel Insight #4: There’s no quick fix for the staffing shortage

If you’ve stepped foot in an airport this summer, you already know. The travel industry is facing a severe staffing challenge, particularly for customer-facing roles at hotels and airlines. Industry CEOs acknowledge that they are struggling to add staff to meet demand.

Airlines, in particular, are struggling to fill staffing requirements. Boeing’s 2021 Pilot and Technician Outlook voices concern that many airline workers who were furloughed during COVID may have left the industry permanently. The commercial airline industry needs 612,000 new pilots, 626,000 new maintenance technicians and 886,000 new cabin crew members over the next 20 years. Hotels and hospitality are also struggling, making it harder to deliver on guests’ expectations. Many hotels are shifting housekeeping services to a by-request-only model and some are cutting back on food and beverage amenities, including room service and restaurants.

What’s the precautionary tale to take away from this staffing mess? It can take decades to build brand trust, and one canceled flight, one bad stay, to destroy it. How people experience your brand — no matter if it’s in the best of times or the worst of times — stays with them. Travelers expect consistency from major brands. It will take time and investment for many airline and hospitality brands to rebuild trust in the quality and consistency of their brand experience.

Travel Insight #5: COVID is with us for the long haul

COVID travel restrictions are still impacting many elements of world tourism, with countries like China continuing to impose stringent restrictions and quarantines on visitors as well as Chinese outbound travelers.

In Asia Pacific, 83% of travel businesses report that ongoing COVID restrictions continue to have a moderate to extensive impact. This compares with 59% in Western Europe, according to Euromonitor. Although less, compared to 2021 levels, COVID concerns among travelers persist. Ongoing concerns, including new variants, affect the travel decisions of 55% of travelers, according to another recent study. Travelers are planning their trips cautiously, and nearly 70% are avoiding certain destinations, with 56% preferring close destinations and 56% avoiding crowded places.

Just as sanctions have grounded Russian travelers, COVID restrictions are keeping Chinese travelers homebound. Popular destinations for Chinese tourists such as Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Australia continue losing out on billions in tourism revenue. And countries with strict quarantine requirements like Japan continue to struggle. Between June 10 and July 10 this year, Japan hosted only 1,500 international tourists, according to data from Japan’s Immigration Services Agency. That’s down 95% from the same period in 2019. Who wants to spend half their holiday in quarantine? Destinations like Japan have focused on promoting domestic travel, but with COVID with us for the long haul, doubling down on domestic travel marketing and promotions is not a sustainable strategy.

Turn disruption into opportunity with tourism industry research and consulting

Escalent specializes in travel and tourism market research, traveler behavior, tourism investment strategy and consultative support across the travel and tourism ecosystem. Learn more about our Travel & Tourism practice and let us help you ride out the storm and go forth with confidence.

SOURCES CITED

(forthcoming) Escalent 2022 Holiday Shopping and Travel Study Please contact us if you would like to be notified when the report is available. View press release .

Voice of the Industry: Travel Survey, Facing New Challenges, Euromonitor, May 2022

Travel: Quarterly Statement Q1 2022, Euromonitor, May 2022

Holiday Barometer among Europeans, North Americans, Asians & Oceanians, Ipsos, June 2022

Japan is open to travel. So why aren’t tourists coming back? CNN, July 31, 2022

Deloitte travel outlook, The winding path to recovery 2022

Half of US Hospitality Workers Won’t Return in Job Crunch, Bloomberg, July 2021

Staff Shortages: World Travel & Tourism Council Travel Survey, May 2022

Related Industry: Travel & Tourism

Related Solution: Brand Positioning , Customer Experience Management , Market Assessment

Related Expertise: Secondary Research

Vivek leads Escalent’s Travel & Tourism practice where he works with tourism boards, airlines, hotels and hospitality brands across the globe, including in China, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. A featured thought leader at global travel and tourism forums such as ITB, TTRA, and PCMA, his expertise spans the Travel & Tourism value chain. Vivek is an experienced business executive with expertise in various business elements including operations, business development and P&L management. A seasoned insights leader, he advises clients on market assessment  and entry strategy, market sizing and growth strategies. An engineer by training, he holds an MBA in Strategy & Marketing from the Indian Institute of Management. Vivek has a keen interest in human psychology and believes that a transparent, win-all proposition is the key to creating a sustainable people-centric business.

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Sinking city: how Venice is managing Europe's worst tourism crisis

Venice’s booming tourism industry is threatening the city’s very survival. But grassroots initiatives are making a difference – and may even help other cities

Friday 15 March was a rare day in Venice: on the concourse in front of the Santa Lucia train station, Venetians outnumbered tourists.

Young Venetians had skipped school to join the global youth climate strike, holding placards with statements such as “If climate was a bank, you’d save it.” The movement is especially relevant in Venice, since a 50cm rise in sea levels could see the city vanish beneath the waves.

Critical as the climate crisis is, the city faces a more immediate risk: the rising tide of tourists, presently estimated at 25 million a year and projected to reach 38 million by 2025.

Europe, already the world’s largest tourism market, received 713 million international visitors in 2018, an 8% increase on the previous year, according to the UN World Tourism Organization. But, in European cities, the increase is far greater: since 2008, overnight stays have jumped 57%. While tourism provides significant economic benefit – contributing €2bn annually in gross revenue to Venice alone – overtourism is causing cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dubrovnik and others to make international headlines on issues ranging from housing affordability , environmental degradation and the destruction of local life.

In 2016 in Dubrovnik, residents were outraged when the mayor asked them to stay home to avoid the dangerous levels of crowds disembarking from multiple cruise ships. The new mayor, Mato Frankovic, has since capped the number of cruise ships that can dock in the city at two per day, cut souvenir stalls by 80% and cut restaurant seating in public spaces by 30%. But similar issues of overcrowding in Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastián, Prague and Salzburg have brought locals out into the streets in increasingly impassioned protests.

One of the most dramatic was Venice’s 2016 No Grandi Navi (“No Big Ships”) protest, when locals took to the Giudecca Canal in small fishing boats to block the passage of six colossal cruise ships. And, although plans have been announced this year to reroute the largest ships to a new dock in Marghera (still to be built), campaigners still argue for a dock outside the lagoon at the Lido, where heavy cargo ships historically unloaded.

• When Europe gets it right

As a series of crises puts Europe under strain, some cities are fighting back with innovative solutions. From hyper-specialist shops beating the online threat in Berlin to the Bulgarian city reversing the country's brain drain, from the Italian city finding new ways to tackle addiction to gambling to the Swedish town that has found innovative ways to combat extremism, we look at what European cities are doing to live better in our increasingly urban world.

This is just one of the ways the Venetian Republic safeguarded the equilibrium of the lagoon and the complex system of commerce around it. In fact, the act of sustaining the lagoon for over a millennium is a singular human achievement, because a lagoon by definition is a temporary natural phenomenon. Venice’s lagoon would have silted in 500 years ago if it hadn’t been for careful environmental protection, sensitive technical intervention and strict commercial regulation – a historic blueprint that provides useful lessons for tourism.

A new generation of concerned citizens and entrepreneurs is taking up that challenge, combining grassroots activism with socially sensitive, sustainable initiatives to save their island home. Consider waste. What comes into Venice must be removed again via a complex collection and recycling system. Every day an army of sanitation workers knocks on every door in the city, collecting waste to be ferried away on barges. The same rules and fines, however, do not apply to tourists – despite the fact that during high season the bins around Piazza San Marco have to be emptied every half an hour.

Troubled by the plastic waste generated by their two boutique hotels – the Novecento and Hotel Flora – the Romanelli family have taken action, eliminating plastic bottles from their properties, and encouraging guests to use steel flasks at Venice’s historic water fountains, for which they supply a map. “We don’t pretend to be [Leonardo] DiCaprio , but through these small actions we hope to do something positive,” says the owner, Gioele Romanelli.

With just 50 rooms and 40 members of staff, they calculate they save 36,000 plastic bottles a year. Multiply that by the estimated 40,000 guest beds in Venice – to say nothing of restaurants or the waste unloaded from cruise ships – and you could save hundreds of millions of plastic bottles a year. “Our children learn about these issues at school and all of them carry their own water flasks, so why not us?” concludes Romanelli’s wife, Heiby.

Addressing the issue of waste is only the most tangible effort to create a more sustainable tourism in Venice.This June will see the launch of Fairbnb , a not-for-profit home-sharing site that only permits resident hosts; mandates one home per host; and contributes half of the 15% booking fee to social projects.

Their launch is timely. Since 2015, Airbnb tourist rentals in Venice have tripled from 2,441 to 8,320, according to Airdna . Of those, 80% are entire home rentals, many are owned by agencies or foreign investors and a 2018 report by Centro Studi di Federalberghi Nazionale found the most prolific host in the city had 135 listings.

Other European cities are responding to similar problems. Barcelona is prosecuting unlicensed apartments and has secured access to Airbnb’s host data in order to pursue offenders. In Madrid, home sharing is now only permitted in houses with their own entrances. Palma, meanwhile, has banned short-term tourist rentals completely in flats that are part of multi-family residential housing, although it is still possible to rent detached homes and villas, provided they are not in a protected area.

“Without significant regulation of the rental market [in Italy], we saw the only way to change things was to provide a market alternative,” says Emanuele dal Carlo, a Venetian who is one of five co-founders of Fairbnb, which crowdfunded for its startup cash. “We’re not anti-Airbnb – we just want to show that it’s possible to create a tourism model that works for local communities as well as travellers.”

On booking, Fairbnb renters decide which project to support and are invited to visit or participate: in Venice this could mean joining volunteers cleaning graffiti or helping turn a centuries-old squero (boat yard) into an educational centre.

“We want to bring back the connection between tourists and locals that has been lost,” dal Carlo says. “Nowadays you can go to a place and virtually never meet a local. But this way you can join them in their real pursuits or even just share a drink together.”

This loss of connection between locals and tourists is something that Valeria Duflot and Sebastian Fagarazzi are also concerned with. Their website Venezia Autentica directs tourists to Venice businesses that support a sustainable local economy – everything from printmakers to photographers, mosaicists to rowers. This is because too few of the city’s 25 million tourists frequent shops and restaurants owned by Venetians, they say. “Quality local businesses definitely need more customers, visitors included,” Duflot says.

Across Europe, other grassroots groups are also fighting to preserve local cultures. In 2017, the social movement Morar em Lisboa , in conjunction with 30 local associations, wrote an open letter denouncing Lisbon’s excessive dependency on tourism and real estate speculation. And last May, 14 cities and islands – 10 of them Spanish, alongside Venice, Lisbon and Malta – joined forces to form the Network of Southern European Cities against Touristification, arguing that mass tourism causes high rents, pollution, the loss of local shops and the proliferation of low-wage jobs.

This is what the European Parliament was referring to when, in 2015, it declared that “European tourism must make a transition from a model of quantitative growth to a qualitative model leading to steady and sustainable development.”

To kick-start new thinking on the matter, they awarded the inaugural 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism to Helsinki for the city’s locally-oriented tourism strategy , which is based on sustainability and the assumption that what makes a city attractive to residents will appeal to travellers, too.

It is this focus on the liveability of a city that Venetian data scientist Fabio Carrera believes is the key to Venice’s future. Because if a city cannot retain its own populace, no amount of tourist tax will be able to avert its inevitable decline and death.

As such, Carrera has dedicated 30 years of his academic life working on the Venice Project Centre , dividing his time between Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the prestigious Santa Fe Institute and Venice. During that time, he has supervised over 250 projects examining the city’s challenges: mapping every bridge, bell tower, well and water bus.

The centre also tracks tourism flows, and has concluded that Venice’s maximum carrying capacity is 55,000 tourists per day, or 20 million per year if European safety standards are to be maintained. It’s not far from the current number of 25 million, he points out – it just needs to be managed better.

A new wave of digital tools could offer some solutions. At the centre’s startup incubator SerenDPT , students are working on projects including smart transport apps, hybrid mortgage schemes that use tourism income to assist with repayments, and a Smart Control Room for the city council that they hope they can export to other cities. He believes these new business ideas, among others, would create the kind of high quality jobs that could refloat the local economy.

No other city faces a bigger tourism challenge, says Carrera – but given Venice’s uniquely contained and complex character, nowhere is better equipped to meet the challenge of sustainable tourism. “Younger generations have been out in the world,” he says. “They see other possibilities and want to bring that back to Venice.”

This article was edited on 1 May 2019 to clarify that Palma has not completely banned short term tourist rentals, just those in apartments in multi-family residential housing

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Sustainability Leaders United

Achieving sustainable tourism: these are the key challenges.

The tourism industry has witnessed a sea of change in the past three years due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. While many of us hoped for a shift toward sustainable tourism on a massive scale, the industry continues to be plagued by problems. What are those challenges? How can destinations and businesses overcome them?

For those who are earnestly looking to start or transition into running a sustainable form of tourism, our panel of sustainable tourism specialists provides an excellent breakdown of the problems  and what can be done to overcome them to achieve sustainability. Below are the answers (highlighted respondents are available as consultants or speakers ).

Some key takeaways of main challenges :

• Failing to acknowledge that every destination is different, with its own specific circumstances and priorities.
• Working in silos. Not understanding that sustainability is a collective journey that requires collaboration.  
• Lack of political will – the switch to sustainability is not easy and even more difficult if local or regional public policy doesn’t support it.
• Using inadequate measures of success, such as merely the number of arrivals (which can lead to overconsumption).
• Not involving employees and supply chain adequately.
• Consequences of the Pandemic, especially the focus on quick earnings over a slow and sustainable tourism.
• A missing sense of urgency – e.g., while the climate has begun changing considerable, action is slow.
• No adequate measures in place to manage overcrowding now that tourism will bounce back.
• Greenwashing – not finding the right balance between touting one’s green credentials and exaggerating claims of sustainability.
• Lack of awareness – insufficient awareness among the tourism industry of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Brian Mullis

This topic is already well covered. In short, we need more purpose-driven businesses that are directly or indirectly involved in the visitor economy by applying commercial strategies to deliver tangible social and environmental impact. And we need more governments working across ministries and with all of the players in the tourism value chain (e.g., private sector, NGOs, communities, etc.) to unlock systems value.

Fiona Jeffery

It’s a vast subject, that’s often overwhelming with a lack of understood practical steps. Also, no environment is necessarily the same, so you are always trying, shaping and developing relevant and local solutions to ensure the right impacts.

Jonathon Day

Sustainability is a complex activity. It requires keeping many plates spinning at once. It is a commitment to a way of doing business – not just an easy add-on.

Kelly Bricker

• various demands by tourists (think supply chain)
• transportation-related issues
• organizational constraints (chains)
• human and financial resources
• growing population and number of travellers, overwhelming some systems

Vicky Smith

• Egos and associated values
• The pursuit of profit at the expense of others
• Want and greed over need
• A superiority to assume better
• An unwillingness to listen and learn from others
• An unwillingness to change because it’s harder work
• An inability to face harsh truths
• Self-interest

The human condition takes the path of least resistance (like other animals) and doesn’t want to be made to feel bad. 

Aivar Ruukel

I think the main problem is the same old mindset and way of doing things. It is not helping if you pick new and better tools, but still have old aims, which are most often so simplistic as “more tourists, more turnover, more profit”. The challenge is to give up on the idea of endless growth within a limited planet. All tourism professionals should understand that tourism is not an industry but a living system. When changing the way we see ourselves and our sector, we can change everything else too.

Alexandra Pastollnigg

Black-and-white thinking; focusing on narrow KPIs without an appreciation of sustainability as a holistic concept and 2nd/3rd order consequences; conflicts of interest in senior business and political decision making/system failures; ego.

Ally Dragozet

A lack of local policies supporting sustainability, and the unavailability of sustainable products or services.

Amine Ahlafi

First, the mentality of managers and human resources in charge of the management of tourism activities and who should have updated training in sustainable development and its impact on business and on ecosystems. Secondly, the segmented approach of some decision-makers who have an interest in adopting a global vision and a holistic and sustainable approach.

The main challenges, therefore, remain awareness-raising, training and policies in favour of sustainability.

Anna Spenceley

I think a great deal of the challenges relates to a lack of awareness of what needs to be done to become more sustainable. This is further compounded when there is a need for skills, resources and effort.

A presentation I gave on this topic at a “Sustainable Tourism Training for Tomorrow”’ event, along with other contributions from notable speakers on the same topic, can be found here .

I’ve been privileged to work over the past 20 years with tourism businesses and destinations at the forefront of sustainability (see for example the book co-written with Sue Snyman ‘ Private sector tourism in conservation areas in Africa ‘)

Recognising the information challenges that are faced, I recently published a book that aims to help transfer more knowledge to tourism businesses and destinations, and help improve their successes: the “Handbook for Sustainable Tourism Practitioners: The Essential Toolbox”.

The handbook is divided into four main parts that address different elements of sustainable tourism planning, operation and evaluation. It contains 27 chapters providing insightful detail into key sustainable tourism issues.  The authors share step-by-step approaches to practical problems – such as how to write bankable financial proposals – how to consult with stakeholders – and how to manage visitors.

The book transfers knowledge from the academic realm, and from extensive practitioner experience, into one essential 550-page volume.  It’s available in e-book and hardback here .

Anne de Jong

When they do it because they feel it will make more money or if they feel it’s something they need to do because it’s the right thing. And even though the latter is important, in the end, they do have a business to run. So, they need to find a way where sustainability fits into their business and actually makes them better. Creating a situation where sustainability is fully integrated into the business and not something on the side.

Antonio Abreu

Lack of vision and weak understanding of the role that sustainability should play in the business. Too often see the action without a solid background, which leads to a certain agitation without effective change. We often listen to people saying that they know, do, and they are champions, but, in reality, they have no clue about it.

The tourism sector is very resistant to accepting the need to include other professionals and other skills. This is the case when it comes to environmental issues. Hotel managers, for instance, tend to consider that anyone in the organisation is able to assume professional and technical roles instead of recruiting qualified people. For the restaurant, they want the best chef, but for handling environmental issues, anyone can do it. It is a basic mistake that we see every day everywhere.

Antonis Petropoulos

In terms of businesses, lack of real commitment to sustainable principles (such as the SDGs ) on the part of management and employees along with a lack of training. Destinations will fail to reach sustainability goals if they:

• lack a critical mass of sustainable tourism businesses
• if they do not have a competent DMO that can coordinate these businesses and
• if public tourism policy is only paying lip service to sustainability, permanently fixated on arrival numbers and expenditure per head

Audrey Scott

Sustainability should be thought of as a long journey that will likely last forever. New approaches, technologies and ecological realities are ever-changing. However, many tourism businesses/destinations won’t know where to actually start and they can get overwhelmed by the complexity of criteria/certifications and feel that sustainability is “all or nothing.” Many businesses think that it’s too expensive and still too niche to be profitable.

Beatriz Barreal

At least in Latin America, the main pitfalls are corruption, greenwashing, and short-term vision. The main challenge is in raising the awareness and the lack of action towards the sustainability of this world, which affects all of us, where we live and where we travel to.

Christian Baumgartner

Convincing the decision-makers involved to think regionally instead of operationally, long-term instead of in terms of investment periods, and complex instead of one-dimensional – and then to act accordingly. Not to shift the responsibility and wait for consumers to express the desire for more sustainability.

Christof Burgbacher

Too often it is decided from top to bottom what the sustainable orientation of a company or destination should look like. However, the participation of employees, the local population, guests and other partners is crucial, as they ultimately have to accept and implement the measures. If a participation process is designed correctly, it can also generate many ideas and creative approaches.

Darrell Wade

Self-interest is the primary one. People consider their own needs, but don’t recognise those of others or the impacts of their own actions. By not considering externalities you are inherently creating a short-term business that will not have sustainability in any sense.

Elisa Spampinato

The main pitfalls that can prevent tourism businesses from success are forgetting that sustainability is a collective journey and, therefore, separating the actions of the actors involved.

Another big pitfall is considering the different dimensions of sustainability as disconnected areas that need segmented interventions and focuses.

They should be highlighted and understood as different areas of intervention, however, on the practical level they should be unified, and a specific effort should be made, at the destination level, to create solutions that can include more than one dimension. And above all, the local communities should be active in the process.

Also, I am among those people that think that we cannot work on environmental, social, economic, and cultural dimensions if we do not include an additional one to the equation: the political.

This means that the political institutions should continue the journey towards sustainability beyond the limitation of the mandate and the people that initiate those specific actions. Sustainability should be understood as a collective journey through generations, driven in a consistent way, whose direction should be dictated exclusively by the destination’s circumstances and contextual priorities.

Regarding challenges, there are big economic interests involved in the tourism business and a huge disparity of power in its management. In fact, most of the people that directly feel the impact of tourism has no part or voice in shaping the industry. 

However, there are encouraging examples of innovative government, like the municipality of Barcelona, which show that new solutions to the democratization of the process can be found. 

Seems that local governments are finding new ways to really listen and include the local community voices.

While the technology factor can be an important ally for the urban communities, a way is yet to be found to include the voices of the traditional, indigenous, and ancestral rural communities left out of the loop and mostly left alone to face the consequence of deregulated tourism activities and the effects of the climate change.

Therefore, the main challenges we face are changing the balance of power and opening up spaces to new stakeholders who could greatly contribute to sustainability if only they were given more space in the decision-making process.

Elizabeth Becker

Convincing governments at all levels to enact and enforce rules for sustainable tourism.

Erik van Dijk

Sustainable tourism is not expensive as people think. Bring the right balance between hospitality and sustainability.

Frankie Hobro

In the past, there hasn’t been much encouragement for tourism to be sustainable but fortunately, I think that is changing now with consumer pressure and expectations in an evolving market. And also with the new generation showing genuine concern over their future on our planet and how our everyday actions contribute to it.

I think many businesses are concerned about viability as a sustainable operation can require a lot of short-term investment with little immediate return and some businesses cannot survive long enough to benefit from the long-term gains when faced with non-sustainable competition. A lack of support for ‘green development’ and funding contributes to this problem as the sustainable option often costs more than the quickest and easiest option.

More successful sustainability trailblazers are needed to encourage and support those who want to follow suit, lead by example and show that it is worth taking the risks and that it can succeed.

Gianna Moscardo

Tourism has two features that make sustainability a challenge.

It occurs across so many different sectors and spaces that a lot of tourism is conducted without any one organization in charge of it. Let’s take the example of Stag parties in a European city with young drunk men behaving badly in public spaces and damaging those spaces – who is responsible for them?

• The places they stay (no because they have no control over the public spaces)
• The airlines that bring them to the city (again no)
• The bars that served them (maybe a little bit)
• The DMO who didn’t encourage them to come and often don’t know there is a problem until it is a major problem
• The international tour operator who has no connection to the destination but organises the package (maybe morally but legally none at all)

That latter example is the second sustainability challenge – a large chunk of tourism is organized by businesses who have no connection to, or interest (other than financial gain) in the destinations that they send tourists to and make money from. They have no incentives to behave well and bear very little in the way of negative consequences if they behave badly. Not all businesses in this sector behave badly but enough do to create problems.

Glenn Jampol

There is one overriding essential component to “sustainable tourism” and that is financial sustainability. Without a profit, your business cannot survive and therefore the possibility to do good is erased. So, all tourism businesses- whether regenerative or conventional -must first and foremost create viable and researched business platforms and seek to understand who their clients are and who they will be.

New small-scale tourism businesses usually function on a thread of support both financially and experientially and are often family-owned and operated. They frequently have little or no real experience in how to manage and grow a tourism company and usually spend too much time in the tourism world learning curve while sacrificing the opportunity to enjoy the best part of owning one of these businesses: the innovative idea-driven projects that not only help to create a fresh approach but also a niche for new and hopefully loyal clients.

Greg Bakunzi

One of the main challenges is the mindset of the community, where the tourism products are offered, the other one is the tourist visiting the area, without responsible, I mean respecting the culture and the people they are visiting.

James Crockett

Getting caught up in how to look good, virtue signalling and a desire to be seen to do good. The most important stuff happens behind the scenes with no one watching, yes there are some great inclusive components which need a song and dance to promote and spread the word to generate buy-in but it is not the starting point.

Joanna Van Gruisen

Competition and profit lead to overtourism. However sustainable the operation of a tourist company is, its very success can invite others who may not entirely share the same sustainable philosophy. Nothing can kill a destination faster than overtourism. Competition can lead to price wars too which can compromise sustainability. At a village level, this can be avoided by tourism operating with community, not individual, benefits, in a wider context, it is harder to avoid without government intervention and support/regulations.

Jonathan Tourtellot

Regarding destinations: 

Using wrong or incomplete measures of success, such as the number of arrivals; ignoring local opinions and desires (or heeding only local desires); inability to counter the power of large corporations (e.g. cruise lines); short-term government thinking and quick-buck solutions; proclivity of donor agencies to fund infrastructure over human capacity development; siloed thinking at the destination level.

Jorge Moller Rivas

Wrong public policy without involving the community.

Lisa Choegyal

Especially in the extreme economic and social suffering post-COVID in many destinations, when tourism returns it will be tempting to cut corners in the desperation to survive and succumb to market forces. We are already seeing this in unsustainable under-cutting and price slashing, for example. Many operations have been forced to lay off staff without pay, causing enormous hardship and threatening the quality of the product once visitors return. The challenge will be to stick to your sustainable tourism principles.

Mariana Madureira

Pitfall – being shallow, superficial or irrelevant. Eg. a hotel communicating not to wash towels frequently. 

Challenge – go deeper, and think of business as a tool to create value for society. Rethink business model and relation with stakeholders.

Marcus Cotton

Nothing can prevent individual businesses from doing more to be sustainable. Only it takes leadership by owners of the business to motivate and inspire change commitment among employees. Fear of failure is the biggest constraint coupled with the human approach of being comfortable with the status quo. Sustainability is a journey, not a destination (a glib definition!) and that ongoing process can put people off.

Marta Mills

The biggest challenges are:

• lack of understanding of what sustainable travel means and why it is important
• lack of awareness
• the short-sightedness of people who want a quick financial gain
• lack of political will, but that comes mostly from the lack of awareness and understanding

Megan Epler Wood

This is a very complex question, but I would say this – we need to change governance and decision-making procedures. Our leadership institutions are still mainly driven by growth.

Mike McHugo

Having a united vision and making sure investors (which one may or may not need) have the same vision.

Natalia Naranjo Ramos

Implementing sustainability requires a coordinated approach to face the challenges and the potential negative impacts of tourism activities.

Paul Peeters

The main pitfall is believing in ineffective ‘solutions’ like offsetting emissions, battery aircraft, and bio-fuels, trying to weigh economics and social aspects against existential issues like climate change and biodiversity. The latter is not possible and means that for relatively vague reasons (losing jobs, while there are many ways to generate labour) to lose the earth systems that are essential for the survival of humans.

Challenges are: get away from the over-valuation of distance, international travel, air travel and back to the essence of being from home even if a short distance. Also focusing on policy-making is essential to make all elements of tourism, but particularly flying, zero emissions by 2050. If that is technically unsuccessful, it should be clear that aviation will be reduced to a small sector.

Peter Richards

There are so many.

Internally: Greed, weak understanding of ‘why?’, weak leadership, lack of prioritising and giving time, lack of resourcing (either intentionally or unintentionally) lack of motivating and encouraging staff, lack of good management systems to systematise and scale-up impacts.

Externally: weak government support, corruption undermining competitive environments, weak demand by customers, lack of access to modern technologies at a reasonable price.

Rachel Dodds

There are many:

• the focus on numbers, rather than yield
• the fact our political cycles are often 3-5 years but real change takes 10-20
• that all stakeholders are not equal in terms of power
• the political will to change is lacking
• humans have short memories and so make the same mistakes over and over and those that want change are often not in control of the things that need to change

Rebecca Hawkins

Depends on the business/destination. Sometimes belief, passion, and the quest for growth at any cost. Very occasionally it is downright irresponsibility. More often than not it is a combination of conflicting priorities (e.g. between service standards and sustainability criteria), bonkers business models (that separate property ownership from management), perverse incentives (that reward consumption rather than conservation) and a firmly held belief that if the customer wants it we as a service industry have to provide it.

Digital marketing under the social influence has enormous potential to cause overtourism which can not be sustainable anymore. For instance, when destinations are using their unique mountain lake for a destination campaign, “Instagram” travellers perhaps flood the spot. Nature and locals have to pay the price for the mass invasion.

Richard Butler

The fact that the majority of tourists and many operators and governments are not prepared to adapt their behaviour/operation to the extent it would be needed to become truly sustainable.

Richard Hammond

Separating the green from the greenwash.

Shannon Guihan

Understanding. While we carry on debating the best term or definition to use, our industry, which is largely SMEs, must engage in action. However, the concept of ‘sustainability’ is daunting, and so many businesses remain uncertain about where to begin. This, in my opinion, is a massive issue. Those of us engaged must offer our resources and approaches – we must help businesses to determine the scope and supporting tactics, rather than intimidate them from joining the effort.

Shannon Stowell

Right now the economic realities of a recovering world will be a real setback for many. Some headway was being made with single-use plastics for instance and this area seems to be regressing because of COVID.

Also, there is no sense of real urgency for the environment or climate with the general public. Until the public understands and believes the seriousness of the situation, it feels like we’ll spin our wheels in many situations.

Shivya Nath

• Business models prioritize volume over all else, ignoring planetary boundaries.
• Sustainability as a niche, rather than a norm.
• Placing the burden of choosing sustainable travel on the consumer.

Sonja Gottlebe

Economic sustainability is essential to be able to lead activities. The pandemic has shown the limits and fragility of tourism all over the world. The wide supply chain is suffering from this crisis.

In poor countries like Madagascar, it’s impacting the well-being of communities directly, lemurs are hunted for meat, and forests are burnt down for charcoal! Without a vision for the future, without a vaccination plan, the biggest challenge will be for travel. to bounce back!

Willem Niemeijer

Greenwashing, even if it’s done unwittingly, needs to be rooted out. Third-party certification can help avoid this trap that gives the industry a bad name. Developing destinations also need to ensure that foreign investments benefit the local community while protecting the interests of the investor.

Xavier Font

The urgent get in the way of the important. We aim to reap short-term benefits without being aware of the long-term consequences of our actions. And too much selfishness.

More about the sustainable tourism expert panel here – including previous sessions and answers to some of the most pressing issues linked to making tourism more sustainable.

• by Editorial Team

Beyond Greenwashing: Experts Weigh in on the Realities and Opportunities of Sustainable Tourism

Most Inspiring Sustainable Tourism Champions to Follow in 2023

Sustainable Tourism Development: Key Trends and Priorities in 2023

Innovation for Tourism Sustainability: Challenges to Overcome

Innovation for Tourism Sustainability: Priorities & Opportunities

Innovation for Tourism Sustainability: Examples and Solutions

Sustainable Tourism 2022 and Beyond: These Are the Keys to Success

Career Choice: Why Focus on Tourism and Sustainability?

What Characterizes a Sustainability Leader in Tourism?

Sustainable, Responsible, Transformative, or Regenerative Tourism: Where Is the Difference?

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Community Voice

Hawaii’s Unhealthy Relationship With Tourism

It’s time to shift focus and invest in our own communities, residents and industries.

By Kayte Jones

July 24, 2020 · 6 min read

About the Author

Kayte Jones

Growing up on the windward side of Oahu, I was used to crowds of tourists. I saw a few tourists increase to busloads of tourists over the years.

In the last few years, my family made the decision to move to Big Island, for many reasons. Although it is not the primary reason, I can’t deny that being “priced out” of Oahu was a contributing factor. We moved to the windward side of the island, since that is my comfort zone, where we have found a new home and community that we love.

I couldn’t help but notice the difference in services and infrastructure. I saw the lack of public transportation. There’s a bus system here on Big Island, made up of retired tour buses and City and County of Honolulu buses, that doesn’t run that often or go to most residential areas.

Well, that’s funny. This island is huge. Public transportation would be so beneficial to the residents. Not only would a better bus system create more jobs, it would connect people with more job opportunities in different areas.

I shared my thoughts with a friend who told me, “Well, the county of Hawaii has less tourism, so therefore has less money. What did you expect?”

Abundance Of Opportunity

Recently, I took a trip to the Kona side, which is filled with hotels, strip malls, golf courses, just like Oahu. As I walked through a perfectly manicured strip mall, I felt myself becoming angry and resentful. All of a sudden I felt this boiling resentment. No one invests in locals, the people that actually live here. We only build nice things for tourists.

My “bold and creative” solution for the future of Hawaii is to shift our focus from tourism and invest in our own communities, our own residents and our own industries. Tourism has been profitable for our state. However, the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism highlighted just how completely dependent our state is on tourism — and it’s an unhealthy relationship.

We should continue to attract tourists and profit from it, but we should not be completely dependent on it. It’s time to shift our focus.

Don’t we have more to offer than the exploitation of our land, people and culture? Couldn’t we be a model of sustainability for the future through research of our unique ecosystem and climate? Through developments in agriculture and green energy like solar power, wind power, algae farms and geothermal energy? Couldn’t we be an educational destination through investment and development into our university system?

I recently read an article about opportunity zones in Civil Beat, which stated, “More than two years after Congress created opportunity zones as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, business advocates on Hawaii island say there’s frustration among local entrepreneurs about a perceived lack of movement from the state to bring new investment into the island’s economically disadvantaged communities.”

I followed the link and clicked my way to the Factsheets section where there was a handy-dandy break down of “Investment Drivers” for each area there are Opportunity Zones, including Hilo, Kona, Honolulu, Kahului and Molokai. On the factsheet for Hilo, I found multiple “investment drivers” listed: economic, health care, government, education and research, ports and cultural, along with areas, institutions and businesses ripe for investment in each category.

Apparently, there is an abundance of opportunity out there. Imagine my surprise to see all of this opportunity in my own community, listed so neatly on this factsheet.

Hawaii has more to offer than hotels, luaus and Instagram-worthy photos. Our tropical climate and fertile land are ideal for agricultural development, yet we import most of our food. Investing in our agricultural industry would not only shift our focus from tourism and support local farms, but would also help Hawaii to be less dependent on exports for food.

Hawaii’s climate also creates a unique opportunity for our state to be a model of sustainability via research and development into sustainable sources of energy, such as solar power, wind farms, geothermal and algae farms. The University of Hawaii is a land-, sea- and space- grant institution recognized as a research university. Investing in research and education can make Hawaii an educational destination.

Lastly, and most importantly, we can shift our focus from tourism to our people here at home through infrastructure investments. That means that even areas with low tourism rates get nice things too. Why should we expect outside investors to come in and invest in areas of our state that we don’t invest in ourselves?

Not only would strengthening agricultural infrastructure help Hawaii become less dependent on exports, it will keep our money in the state. Every time there is a crisis, or a natural disaster, residents of Hawaii worry about whether or not cargo ships will make it into our harbors. We worry because most of us are accurately aware of our state’s dependence on exports.

I’m not OK with accepting that my new home has less infrastructure because we have less tourists.

While I loved living on Oahu, I love living on Big Island for different reasons. But this move has shown me the differences between an island catered to and funded by tourism and an island sustained by residents. I have no problem going to the post office to get my mail because we don’t have mail service.

I don’t mind that county water isn’t available in many areas. I enjoy living off the water grid and utilizing a catchment system because I want to live sustainably. I don’t mind some unpaved roads. A poor bus system doesn’t bother me, because I have a car.

What I’m not OK with is accepting that my new home has less infrastructure because we have less tourists.

A community’s value is not determined by its average number of tourists. Our state is more than a tourist destination. Our culture is not meant to be marketed and sold. The people of Hawaii are worthy of investments that improve residents’ standard of living, and not just projects that attract more tourists.

We’ve known for decades that we need to diversify our economy to be less reliant on tourism. It’s time to shift our focus to a more sustainable future for Hawaii.

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Community Voices aims to encourage broad discussion on many topics of community interest. It’s kind of a cross between Letters to the Editor and op-eds. This is your space to talk about important issues or interesting people who are making a difference in our world. Column lengths should be no more than 800 words and we need a photo of the author and a bio. We welcome video commentary and other multimedia formats. Send to [email protected] . The opinions and information expressed in Community Voices are solely those of the authors and not Civil Beat.

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Pritchett: Excess Baggage

By John Pritchett · July 26, 2020 · 0 min read

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Honolulu Civil Beat is a nonprofit organization, and your donation helps us produce local reporting that serves all of Hawaii.

Kayte Jones, originally from Oahu, is a resident of the Big Island where she works in the mental health field.

Latest Comments (0)

This article makes a great point but the author forgets that many people today are against progress unless it's progress to build new stores. The NIMBYs and CAVE people do their best to stop progress. They are against geothermal energy, carbon neutral energy, space exploration(from telescopes to space ports), and any other form of progress that would give Big Island a step away from relying on tourism. We sit between a rock and a hard place. Whomever figures out this problem and gets everyone on board will be in the running for the Nobel Prize.

hawaiianreyes · 3 years ago

PLEASE send this thoughtful, well written article to Governor Ige, Lt. Governor Green and all county Mayors!

Jimmy · 3 years ago

Mahalo for this piece.I totally agree we need to move towards self-sustainablilty and protecting this beautiful culture, people and land.

Judy · 3 years ago

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Volunteer tourism: what’s wrong with it and how it can be changed

Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina – Charlotte

Disclosure statement

Andrea Freidus does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Volunteer tourism, or voluntourism, is an emerging trend of travel linked to “doing good”. Yet these efforts to help people and the environment have come under heavy criticism – I believe for good reason.

Voluntourists’ ability to change systems, alleviate poverty or provide support for vulnerable children is limited. They simply don’t have the skills. And they can inadvertently perpetuate patronising and unhelpful ideas about the places they visit.

The trend of voluntourism has come about partly through initiatives by large-scale, well established organisations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, CARE International and World Vision. They raise money for programmes they have developed for orphans and vulnerable children.

Their appeals have been effective because needy children tend to arouse compassion and because modern communication technology makes it easy to share the call to help.

But there are dangers in these appeals, which are mostly aimed at Western audiences. For example, singer Madonna, in her documentary I Am Because We Are , says Malawi is in a “state of emergency”. She says there are over a million children orphaned by AIDS in the central African country and that they are

living on the streets, in abandoned buildings, and are being abducted, kidnapped, and raped.

Madonna’s description is inaccurate. There are not a million children living on the streets of Malawi, nor are there high levels of abduction and rape .

Aside from sometimes creating an inaccurate impression, these appeals have attracted increasing numbers of student volunteers, best described as amateur humanitarian workers. They intend to serve people, especially children, but do they?

The trouble with voluntourism

Most students bring few relevant skills to their volunteer sites. They are not required to commit to long-term involvement either. Instead, volunteers take part in service projects like basic construction, painting, tutoring in English and maths, distributing food, or “just being a friend” to children perceived as alone and in need of social support.

Voluntourism with children also perpetuates the notion of a desperate Africa needing the benevolence of the West. Volunteers are led to imagine that their engagement directly addresses suffering. Many believe the children they work with don’t have any other social systems to support them materially or socially.

This is evident from the images and anecdotes they circulate of a suffering, sick Africa. The images they portray is that Africa is incapable of escaping poverty and violence without Western intervention.

The ways volunteers get involved tend not to address the causes of suffering .

The design of these programmes leads to superficial engagement for volunteers. This makes it hard for them to think about – or do anything about – the structural issues that create humanitarian crises in the first place.

These issues include the history, social, political and economic conditions that frame people’s lives.

My research suggests that students who engage in these programmes actually contribute towards the mystification of larger systems that produce inequality, poverty, particular patterns of disease distribution, and various forms of violence.

Programmes need to be reworked

The problems outlined here do not necessarily mean that volunteer work should be abandoned. In an increasingly violent and xenophobic world, these kinds of cross-cultural engagement can help people understand and appreciate each other.

But if this is to be achieved, volunteer experiences need to be reframed and programmes reworked. Any organisation taking young people to volunteer sites in Malawi ought to be preparing them with adequate information before they go as well as opportunities for critical discussion during and after their trips. Many of these programmes are associated with college campuses or organised religious groups that have the capacity to learn about, teach, and support a more sophisticated cultural exchange.

Students need to learn about the political, social, economic and cultural histories of the places they visit. They should be given the opportunity to explore systems of poverty and inequality in greater depth.

Most importantly, students need to think about these experiences as cultural exchanges meant to generate knowledge and respect about other ways of being and not as trips that “help” the poor.

If volunteers can understand the people they work with as citizens with rights rather than objects of charity, they can begin to think about long-term partnership, justice and structural change.

I believe long-term commitment is key. Doctors, engineers, computer scientists and particular types of educators have important skills and could make more enduring contributions. Doctors, for example, they could train medical personnel on new procedures to use once the volunteer leaves.

For the shorter term, volunteers should see their presence as a cultural exchange rather than as humanitarian relief.

• Voluntourism
• Save the Children
• Global perspectives
• World Vision
• Humanitarian relief
• T&F research

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Japan's hospitality and tourism industry is recovering, but there are challenges

Japan's readiness to receive tourists is not keeping pace with the speed of the recovery of visitor numbers. Image:  Unsplash/Sayaka Ganz

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• Japan's hospitality and tourism sector is recovering in earnest after reopening its border to foreign visitors and lifting mask rules after COVID-19.
• As a result, March saw visitor numbers reach nearly 2 million, equivalent to about two-thirds of tourist figures for the same month in 2019.
• Japan will need to adapt to avoid 'overtourism' and also address post-pandemic labour shortages in both hospitality and tourism.

The Japanese hospitality and tourism industry is beginning to recover in earnest after being badly hit by COVID-19.

In October 2022, Japan lifted the ceiling on the number of foreign tourists entering the country as well as the ban on the entry of individual foreign travellers, thereby significantly easing its pandemic border control measures. Furthermore, as of March this year, the rule to wear masks, both indoors and outdoors, is now left to individual discretion.

This was a tailwind, and the number of visitors to Japan in the same month quickly recovered to 1,827,500 – a figure is equivalent to 66% of the pre-pandemic March 2019 tally and 27.5 times higher than in March 2022.

By country/region, the largest number of visitors to Japan in March came from South Korea with 466,800 – or 79.7% of the figure for March 2019; followed by Taiwan with 278,900; the United States with 203,000, and Hong Kong with 144,900. In addition, since Japan eased travel restrictions from China on March 1, the number of travellers from the country almost doubled to 75,000 in February.

Takahide Kiuchi, Executive Economist at Nomura Research Institute, forecasts that "inbound demand for the year 2023 will be JPY 4,958 billion (about $36.7 billion), which could quickly surpass the JPY 4,813.5 billion (about $35.7 billion) inbound demand in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic”.

However, while Japan's economy is being revitalized in earnest by inbound consumption – boosted in part by the record low yen, which makes Japan an attractive destination for foreign tourists – the country is facing a noticeable challenge as its readiness to receive tourists is not keeping pace with the speed of the recovery in visitor numbers.

Severe labour shortages in hospitality

The hospitality and restaurant industries are in a particularly tight spot, unable to cope with the resurgence of inbound tourism.

According to a January survey released by Teikoku Databank, the percentage of companies feeling a labour shortage (non-permanent employees) amounted to 81.8% for inns and hotels and 80.4% for restaurants. Of all sectors, these two industries in particular are experiencing an outstanding labour shortage, with the percentage for inns/hotels at an all-time high.

Many in the hospitality and restaurant sectors have been forced to reduce their workforce and curtail new hiring due to closures, shorter hours and poor performance caused by the spread of COVID-19, and many employees have moved on to other jobs. The fact it is not easy to bring back staff once they have left the industry is the main reason for the serious labour shortage.

Have you read?

Japan has eased travel restrictions - but will the tourism sector bounce back, the number of tourists that visit japan has increased by more than 20 million in five years, saving forests to protect coastal ecosystems: japan sets historic example.

Japanese industry has been trying to solve labour shortages by accepting foreign workers. The tourism sector has relied heavily on part-time jobs for foreign students. According to data from the Japan Student Services Organization in 2021, the hospitality and restaurant industries accounted for nearly 40% of all part-time jobs for foreign students. However, foreign student part-time workers have completely disappeared since the pandemic.

Furthermore, the depreciation of the yen, which has been progressing since the second half of last year, has significantly lowered wages in Japan from the perspective of other countries. Despite overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and embarking on a path of economic recovery, Japan is no longer attractive as a country to go to as a migrant worker, and it is no longer possible to expect to attract foreign staff .

In a bid to address the problem in hospitality, hotel operations are being reformed by using digital technology to increase efficiency. JTB, a major Japanese travel agency, has developed a platform that links its core system with digital tools such as ATMs to save labour in check-out and other operations, and is now offering the system to hotels.

Tokyu Hotels, which operates 45 hotels in Japan, has also introduced NEC's Smart Hospitality Service , which enables automatic check-in using facial recognition and QR codes, at 39 of its hotels nationwide. Users can check in by simply holding up their face to a tablet terminal at the front desk if they have registered their guest information and photo in advance – making operations more efficient.

Countermeasures against ‘overtourism’

Overtourism has long been a challenge for the Japanese travel industry, and local residents in key tourist areas have suffered from issues including crowding, traffic congestion, rubbish and noise. The ability to diversify the times and areas visited by tourists is key to preventing overtourism, while allowing the tourism industry to gain momentum for a resurgence.

According to a Japan Tourism Agency survey, most people travel on holidays, including major national holidays, and only 16.5% of travel volume occurs on weekdays , which account for 70% of the annual number of days.

As such, the government is working to diversify travel demand by increasing the amount of coupons granted for weekday travel in its nationwide travel support programme. Now that the spread of teleworking has made it feasible to combine work and travel on weekdays, the creation of new incentives, such as work holidays, could also help to balance out travel demand.

Diversification of tourist destinations is another important issue. Pre-pandemic, the occupancy rate of accommodation facilities in Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka – where tourists are concentrated – rose to nearly 80%, and the negative effects of overtourism were being called out.

However, in many prefectures located along the typical tourist routes for foreign visitors, the occupancy rate of accommodation facilities was less than 50%, resulting in regional differences. In the future, it will be important to bridge these regional differences by promoting Japan's diverse destinations, and to increase the number of people visiting non-representative tourist destinations by attracting repeat visitors.

Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021: Rebuilding for a Sustainable and Resilient Future

Looking to a new future for japan tourism.

The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021: Rebuilding for a Sustainable and Resilient Future ranked Japan first in the development index ranking due to the speed with which the travel and tourism industry has recovered from the devastation caused by the pandemic.

Assuming that the travel and tourism industry will play an important role in global economic and social development, the report emphasizes that investment in the drivers of the industry’s development will be crucial in the future.

Meanwhile, Atsushi Takahashi of JR East Japan Planning Inc sounded an alarm bell on the past Japanese approach to tourism and instead urged a new way of thinking. “We have long made decisions based on intuition, experience and assumptions. We have been making decisions for a long time without looking at data,” he said.

“The original marketing is to choose the best solution at the time from multiple hypotheses that emerge depending on how the data is viewed and interpreted. However, in the field of tourism, I feel that this is still too shallow.”

His observations stress his belief that data-based initiatives in Japan's tourism industry are also essential to solving issues facing the sector today, as well to providing new forms of tourism services altogether.

Pre-pandemic, China ranked first in the number of foreign visitors to Japan by nationality and region, accounting for a 25.6% share . Currently, there are restrictions on issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals, but if these restrictions are lifted in the future, the number of visitors from China is expected to increase rapidly.

In addition, the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai – which will be held for six months and centre around the theme of 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives' – is expected to attract 3.5 million foreign tourists.

With these expected surges in visitor numbers, the question will be how Japan can solve the problems facing hospitality and tourism, while also creating and providing services that place value on new forms of tourism.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Thousands protest tourism in Tenerife saying Canary Islands are ‘exhausted’

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Tens of thousands of people hit the streets in Tenerife today to protest against tourism on the island, with UK tourists among the targets of anger.

Messages in English left on walls and benches in and around Palm Mar in the southern of the island included ‘My misery your paradise’ and ‘Average salary in Canary Islands is 1,200 euros’.

In an apparent UK backlash, a response left in English on a wall next to a ‘Tourists go home’ message said: ‘F**k off, we pay your wages.’

Chanting and whistling, protesters waved placards emblazoned with slogans reading ‘The Canary Islands are not up for sale!’ and ‘Respect my home’.

The Spanish islands off the coast of North Africa are an ever-popular destination among Brits hoping to escape the cold on the mainland.

One demonstrator said: ‘It’s not a message against the tourist, but against a tourism model that doesn’t benefit this land and needs to be changed.’

Protests also took place in the other islands in the archipelago, including Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, with support demos scheduled for the Spanish mainland in cities like Malaga and Madrid as well as London and Berlin.

The Canary Islands protests were organised under the slogan ‘Canarias Tiene Un Limite’ which in English translates as ‘The Canary Islands have a limit.”

The backdrop to the demos is an ongoing hunger strike six men and women began on April 11 outside a church in the northern Tenerife town of La Laguna.

Speaking ahead of the start of today’s demonstrations, a spokesman for protest platform Canarias Se Agota, which the hunger strikers are affiliated to, said: ‘Today, April 20, marks the 10th day of the hunger strike.

‘Today we cannot forget these people who are putting their lives at risk for our Earth.

‘Their determination inspires, their bravery moves us, their sacrifice reminds us that this struggle is everyone’s and for everyone.

‘We are writing a new chapter in the history of our islands, a chapter marked by the unwavering perseverance of those who bravely defend our home.

‘Today the Canary Islands will scream and fight, and tomorrow it will continue to do so.’

Protest groups including Canarias Se Agota, which in English translates literally as ‘The Canary Islands are Exhausted’, want the authorities to paralyse two tourist projects including one which involves the construction of a five-star hotel by one of Tenerife’s last virgin beaches.

They are also seeking a commitment from regional politicians to change the tourist model and protect islands like Tenerife from the worst excesses of mass tourism, including sea pollution, traffic gridlock and lack of cheap affordable housing linked to the pushing-up of property prices because of Airbnb-style holiday lets.

Other demands include the protection of natural spaces, a tourist tax and better working conditions for hotel cleaners, who joined today’s protest in Santa Cruz as they insisted to local press: ‘We are not slaves.’

The archipelago of 2.2 million people was visited by nearly 14 million foreign tourists in 2023, up 13% from the previous year, according to official data.

Authorities in the islands are concerned about the impact on locals.

A draft law expected to pass this year toughening the rules on short lets follows complaints from residents priced out of the housing market.

Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo said on Friday he felt ‘proud’ that the region was a leading Spanish tourist destination, but acknowledged that more controls were needed as the sector continues to grow.

‘We can’t keep looking away. Otherwise, hotels will continue to open without any control,’ he told a press conference. 

In the Gran Canaria capital Las Palmas, marchers carried banners in Spanish which said: ‘It’s not phobia, it’s love for my land.’

A woman protestor held up another which said: ‘Fourteen million tourists a year but 36 per cent of Canarians at risk of poverty.’

One of the other banners exhibited by protestors said: ‘The Canary Islands government is an estate agency.’

Another said: ‘With so much Airbnb where are we going to live?’

Paula Rincon told local press: ‘It pains me that Canarians cannot afford to live in their own neighbourhoods.’

Insisting the current tourism model led to ‘more people paying lower prices and badly-built hotels that destroyed beaches and protected areas’ she added: ‘I don’t know why we aspire to so many numbers when this doesn’t filter down to the rest of the population.

‘The current system doesn’t benefit us, it impoverishes us.’

The protests in the Canary Islands are mostly taking place away from the main tourist areas, which in Tenerife and Gran Canaria are in the south of the islands.

Some British holidaymakers have shown their support for the issues raised by the islanders but others have accused them of biting the hand that feeds them.

The Canary Islands’ tourism minister Jessica de Leon urged British holidaymakers not to cancel their holidays ahead of today’s demos.

Canary Islands regional president Fernando Clavijo initially admitted he was worried tourists might be put off coming to the area, before softening his message last week and describing the April 20 protests as an opportunity to ‘revise’ the current tourism model.

Jorge Marichal, president of regional hotel association ASHOTEL, has claimed tourists were ringing establishments to ask whether it was safe to come.

He has also insisted ‘non-regulated’ holiday lets are a big problem and the reason there is less control than there should be on the numbers of tourists in places like Tenerife.

Protest platform Canarias Se Agota has insisted it has nothing to do with the graffiti that has appeared in parts of Tenerife over recent weeks – and has accused regional politicians of blaming them of tourism-phobia as part of a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

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Thousands protest against over-tourism in Spain’s Canary Islands

Demonstrators say mass tourism is overwhelming the Atlantic archipelago.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets of Spain’s Canary Islands to demand changes to the model of mass tourism they say is overwhelming the Atlantic archipelago.

An estimated 57,000 people joined the protests, which began at midday (11:00 GMT) on Saturday, Spanish media reports said, citing the central government’s representative in the islands.

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Flag-waving crowds packed the streets of the main towns across all of the archipelago’s seven islands, chanting and whistling, and holding placards with slogans like: “The Canary Islands are not up for sale!”; “A moratorium on tourism”; and “Respect my home”.

“It’s not a message against the tourist, but against a tourism model that doesn’t benefit this land and needs to be changed,” one of the protesters told the Reuters news agency during the march in Tenerife’s capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Smaller marches were held elsewhere in the island group and other Spanish cities, all of them organised by about two dozen environmental organisations ahead of the peak summer holiday season.

The protests were called by some 20 social and environmental groups who say tourist overcrowding perpetuates an economic model that harms local residents and damages the environment.

They want the authorities to limit the number of visitors and have proposed introducing an eco-tax to protect the environment, a moratorium on tourism and a clampdown on the sale of properties to non-residents.

“The authorities must immediately stop this corrupt and destructive model that depletes the resources and makes the economy more precarious. The Canary Islands have limits and people’s patience [does], too,” Antonio Bullon, one of the protest leaders, told Reuters.

‘We can’t keep looking away’

The archipelago of 2.2 million people was visited by nearly 14 million foreign tourists in 2023, up 13 percent from the previous year, according to official data.

Authorities in the islands are concerned about the impact on locals. A draft law expected to pass this year – one that toughens the rules on short lets – follows complaints from residents priced out of the housing market.

Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo said on Friday that he felt “proud” that the region was a leading Spanish tourist destination, but acknowledged that more controls were needed as the sector continues to grow.

“We can’t keep looking away. Otherwise, hotels will continue to open without any control,” he told a press conference.

Anti-tourism protests have multiplied in recent months across Spain, the world’s second-most visited country, prompting authorities to try to reconcile the interests of locals and a lucrative sector that accounts for 12.8 percent of Spain’s economy.

The Canary Islands, which lie off the northwestern coast of Africa, are known for their volcanic landscapes and year-round sunshine attracting millions of visitors every year, with four in 10 residents working in tourism – a sector that accounts for 36 percent of the islands’ gross domestic product (GDP).

Before the coronavirus pandemic brought the global travel industry to its knees in 2020, over-tourism protest movements were already active in Spain, notably in Barcelona.

After travel restrictions were lifted, tourism surged, with Spain welcoming a record 85.1 million visitors last year.