These are not my words but those of Sean Thomas, a British author and journalist who writes regularly for The Times, Daily Mail, The Spectator, and The Guardian, mainly on travel, politics, and art. His article in The Spectator, “How tourists became the new pariahs”, advises readers to “Make the most of free travel while you can.”
He offers a dystopian view of the future, but his argument is well-founded. As with climate change, and biodiversity loss, the future will be what we make it. Overtourism with its attendant ills is not inevitable, but as we procrastinate it is more and more likely – this is not inevitable, but it is increasingly likely.
Citing evidence from Sicily, the Maldives, Japan, Barcelona, Sardinia, Portofino, where anyone taking a selfie is fined, and Bréhat in Brittany, where only 4,700 trippers are allowed in a day before the island is shut, Thomas argues that the “reality of Mallorca as an authentic place is quite obscured, invisible under the weight of visitors.” As he says, “… if you think that sounds bad, so do the Mallorcans, which is why they are finally — perhaps belatedly — rebelling.”
He asks whether “the mighty juggernaut of the global tourist industry with awkward selfie-bans, crude limits on numbers and some earnest, go-away advertising” can constrain the growth. As he so rightly points out, “vast swathes of humanity are only now entering the middle classes, acquiring a passport and gaining the leisure time that enables them to travel.” The Indians, Chinese, Brits, Germans, Japanese and Americans “all want to go to the same places.”
Sea Thomas argues that others will follow the Bhutan example, the “inevitable has happened. The Venetians have started charging day trippers a fee simply to visit the city.” He argues that “people are so desperate to see Venice it will take a serious case of sticker-shock to make them think twice.” He thinks that results in entry charges at €50.
Shocking? Perhaps, but pricing is the most likely form of rationing. “Money makes more sense, above and beyond mere greed, because it means you can recompense local businesses that lose passing trade.” As he points out, we might even see ticket touts offering deals for entry to Florence or Venice. “Psst, wanna buy tickets for Rome? — you get within six feet of the Trevi fountain.”
Sean Thomas concludes “In which case, as a travel writer, the best advice I can offer Spectator readers is this: make the most of free travel while you can. And after that, there’s always Düsseldorf.”
As the BBC’s Rajan Datar, argues “ there is an ethical conundrum to consider here – and with it a charge of hypocrisy.” We have conspicuously consumed travel since WWII, “ exploring far-flung parts of the world without thinking of the unwanted consequences of mass tourism. So who are we now to preach to younger generations for whom gap years and backpacking are almost a rites of passage and indeed life enhancing experiences?”
The new middle classes from China and India will do the same. Who are we to stop them even if we could? Rajan reports seeing a placard carried during a demonstration in Palma. It read: “We live off tourism but tourism doesn’t let us live.”
