Have you encountered “overtourism”? How should popular destinations deal with it?
Places like Venice, Barcelona or Dubrovnik – as well as destinations in the Swiss Alps – are struggling with an influx of tourists. Approaches to deal with it range from limiting access for large tour groups to selling access tickets.
Have you ever encountered the effects of “over-tourism” in your travels? What was it like, and what measures do you think could be taken to address the issue?
Read more in these stories: Swiss beauty spot to control Korean Netflix tourists and Lauterbrunnen, victim of its own success
Here in the "American Alps," otherwise known as the North Cascades, or mistakenly as North Cascades National Park, we also suffer from over-tourism. What we lack is Roger to persuade tourists to visit us in midweek or shoulder seasons. Switzerland is lucky to have Roger, because celebrity is the best way to reach beyond the choir. I've visited Switzerland and Norway in the shoulder seasons, and been guided in my travels by my Swiss wife and former Norwegian employers, but before Roger and the almost as famous Scandinavian skiers. I had wonderful visits in both countries, and I'm confident that Roger is guiding tourists constructively in Switzerland. Give Roger more freedom to follow his instincts, and I'm sure you'll do well. We're experimenting, and so far almost succeeding, with the "trails resort" concept, guarding the sunny eastern entry to North Cascades National Park. We probably just need someone like Roger.
The volume of tourists in popular (instsgrammable) hiking paths is certainly growing, and that volume does affect the wildlife, the flora and fauna and the enjoy ability of some of these places. I hike the Brienzergrat to Hardergrat ridge in whole or in part depending n the season quite regularly. In the last three years I have encountered problems that are related to illegal activity up there. The entire ridge is a federally protected area for wildlife. It is quite well documented online and in local signage that camping, bivouacking, drone flying and dogs off their lines are not allowed in the protected area. But I encounter all these activities everytime I am on the ridge. At first I attributed these illegal activities to tourists, and while some are, I see more and more Swiss people ignoring the rules. I see Swiss Families with a dog barking at Steinbock without its line. I see Swiss couples camping stupidly on the peaks. Drone flyers of every nationality but primarily Swiss are regularly up there. I try to point out the rules but most ignore me as I am just another hiker. If Swiss people cannot follow the rules and behave considerately, how can we expect tourists to do so? Swiss Rangers and the Game Warden are forced to patrol the ridge late at night in the summer season, fining campers and removing them from the mountain (mostly Augstmatthorn). But many of these people are local. They either don’t care about the rules or believe rules don’t apply to them. This sets a bad example and we all
Must behave as we expect tourists to do so.
I agree when Venice or Amsterdam prohibit cruise ships from docking in their ports for a single day, just as some cities in my state, São Paulo, in Brazil, prohibit tourist buses, which we call "round trips". This mass tourism, in my opinion, degrades the region more than it helps tourism...
Just like the American national parks, which have also reduced or decreased the number of tourists, in order to preserve the forest and the animals that live in these parks... and that is the function of these parks... in my opinion, unfortunately, humanity has already far exceeded the capacity of the environment to regenerate... And we have to accept living with less and not the other way around...nothing is infinite.../ Forever...
Eu concordo quando Veneza ou Amsterdam proibem navios de cruzeiros atracarem nos portos para ficarem somente dia , assim como , algumas cidades daqui do meu estado , São Paulo , no Brasil , que proibem onibus de turismo que chamamos de "" bate e volta"" , esse turismo massivo , ao meu ver mais degrada a regiao do que ajuda turisticamente falando ...
Assim como os parques nacionais americanos que tambem reduziram ou diminuíram a quantidade de turistas , para preservarem a mata e animais , que vivem nesses parques ...e essa é a função desses parques...ao meu ver infelizmente a humanidade já ultrapassou em.muito a capacidade de regeneração do meio ambiente ... E Temos que aceitar conviver com menos e nao ao contrário...nada é infinito./ Para sempre...
Bali shows many signs of overtourism. Clever people come over to 'my place' in Lombok. Just came back from the beach. I was the only one swimming.... very relaxing...
I visited Interlaken with my family in June 2022 and did not have the opportunity to see masses of tourists or waves invading such a beautiful place.
I enjoyed it intensely and was struck by how uncrowded it was.
Evidently I was very lucky, our hotel was very well attended without excess of tourists and the successive places that we visited in our vacation journey did not call my attention for the excess of tourists, but they called my attention for their beauty, tranquility and simple organization.
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Visite con mi familia Interlaken en junio de 2022 y no tuve oportunidad de ver masas de turistas ni ordas invadiendo tan bello lugar.
Lo disfruté intensamente y me llamó la atención observar cuán poco concurrido estaba.
Evidentemente tuve mucha suerte.Nuestro hotel estaba muy bien atendido sin exceso de turistas y los sucesivos lugares que visitamos en nuestro trayecto vacacional no me llamaron la atención por el exceso de turistas.Si llamaron mi atención por su belleza ,,tranquilidad y sencilla organizacion
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My wife and I have been visiting the Jungfrau area of Switzerland for over 20 years in summer and winter. We like to stay in Grindelwald or Wengen and usually book for two weeks.
Over the years we have seen a large increase in tour groups from the "Far East" who only seem to spend one day in the area before moving on to be replaced by other tour groups. The problem with large groups is that they all want to be in the same place at the same time and as a result the popular areas, trains, cable cars and boats get crowded. Increasing the capacity and speed of cable cars simply puts more people up the mountains and I am sure it will affect the ski season. More skiers on the slopes at the same time will spoil the experience and could result in many accidents.
This summer the trains were overcrowded - standing room only - and running late as it took longer for the crowds to get on and off. We were based in Wilderwil and had to stand in crowded carriages many times on the way to and from Grindelwald Terminal.
We still love the area but the tour groups are taking the shine of it.
I live in Lauterbrunnen. The excuse that putting a barrier up is not feasible is nonsense. There are options but no political will. There is zero proactive policing of the area so tourists do pretty much whatever they want and it is OK. Equip and fund the local police to get serious. Fine drivers who drive up the street whilst videoing the valley with their phone. Fine people using drones and confiscate and destroy the equipment. So many solutions but the real problem is the lack of political will. Weak, pathetic leadership is the real issue.
Day tourists should be limited. Guided tours should also include local conditions regarding environmental sustainability of tourism, local products, but also protection of the quality of life of the local population.
Tagestouristen sollten limitiert werden. Führungen sollten auch auf die örtlichen Gegebenheiten bezüglich Umweltverträglichkeit des Tourismus, einheimische Produkte, aber auch Schutz der Lebensqualität der einheimischen Bevölkerung beinhalten.
North American national parks are increasingly barring cars and providing shuttle buses that are spaced out enough for wildlife to cross. Overtourism is just one aspect of worldwide overpopulation.
More powers need to be given to the local community. They are best placed to seek out and implement a balanced solution.
This example about a hugely popular waterfall in Scotland explains further.
The so called social media have attracted people to places that wanted to keep a low profile. It attracted many people that do not identify themself with the place. Meaning no respect, selfish behaviour, "just been there" persons, take a picture and leave again, no identification with the place and no research about it.
The places are overrun, nature cannot not recover and the garbage left by people is out of control. No one dares to say anything to anyone as they are scarred of bad publicity.
We have to stop overtourism by firstly limiting their access, limit the hours that the place is available for, limit the number of people per day, charge entrance fees and only allow people with a local guide.
In my opinion, tourism can be regulated with a tax, so that it also serves to better maintain the areas or places to visit.
En mi opinión,se puede regular el turismo con impuesto.De manera que también sirva para mantener mejor los espacios o lugares a visitar.
I do not believe that Switzerland was right to join the EU sanctions against Russia. Its history does not support this decision, and simply following in the footsteps of others is not always a good thing. Switzerland's neutrality is wounded and will take time to heal, if at all...
Yo no creo que Suiza ha hecho bien en sumarse a las sanciones de la UE contra Rusia. Su historia no avala esta decisión, y seguir sin más las sendas de otros no siempre es bueno. La neutralidad helvética está herida y tardará en curarse, si es que se cura..
Thanks for your comment; what do you believe this has to do with tourism / overtourism? Do you think this decision has had an impact on tourists coming to Switzerland?
In fact, it's the exaggerations that do harm. Promoting more ecological sites, taking advantage of the eco-tourism phase, would be one of the attitudes to be promoted by governments. Of course, laws that are more in line with the chronic problems of cities like Venezia, for example, are essential. It's all a question of will, of collective movement and less of that "it's not up to me" mentality. Tânia B.
De fato são os exageros que fazem mal. Divulgar locais mais ecológicos aproveitando a fase do turismo eco seria uma das atitudes a serem promovidas pelos governos. Óbvio que as leis mais condizentes com problemas crónicos de cidades como Venezia, por exemplo é essencial. Tudo uma questão de vontade, de movimento coletivo e menos aquela mentalidade de "isso não é comigo". Tânia B.
I lived in Barcelona for 18 years and there is definitely over-tourism with bad tourists. from some EU countries that come to BCN to do things for which they would go to jail if they do in their countries. The government cannot do anything because tourism is very lucrative in Spain so it is what it is. Paris is a disaster last time I went there. Constant treaths for terrorist attacks or some psycho wanting to destroy Louvre for some personal believes. Dirty noisy streets. In Switzerland, there is practically no tourism compared to BCN, I think CH is doing a great job in balancing all social and economical aspects.
Overtourism has been looming for decades now, but in recent times, having overcome the pandemic, there is an overwhelming urge for recovery (!) and so everyone is flocking to the most coveted tourist destinations. These destinations are now collapsing, and the native population is fed up with having to live in a sheep herd of tourists hungry for "exotic adventures, which have nothing exotic about them now. How to curb mass tourism? I think it will be impossible, unless we introduce new taxes and levies that discourage very little, however. Those who cannot do without vacations away from home will jump through hoops to go there: they will rather save money elsewhere!
Some places have introduced numerus clausus, however very difficult to implement in practice, partly because there is strong resistance from hoteliers and the tourism industry in general, which thrives as never before on the overabundance of "sheep" roaming the world.
For my part, I stay home rather than deal with this suffocating and alienating tourist herd: it is also a small contribution to the environment.
L' overtourism incombe ormai da decenni, ma negli ultimi tempi, superata la pandemia, c'è una voglia di recupero irrefrenabile (!) e allora tutti a fiondarsi nelle mete turistiche più ambite. Queste mete sono ormai al collasso, e la popolazione autoctona non ne può più di dover vivere in un branco di pecore di turisti affamati di "avventure esotiche, che di esotico ormai non hanno più nulla. Come frenare il turismo di massa? Credo che sarà impossibile, a meno di introdurre nuove tasse e balzelli che però scoraggiano ben poco. Chi non può fare a meno di vacanze lontano da casa, farà salti mortali pur di andarci: piuttosto risparmierà altrove!
Alcuni luoghi hanno introdotto il numerus clausus, però assai difficile da realizzare nella pratica, anche perché ci sono forti resistenze di albergatori e dell'industria turistica in genere, che prospera come non mai sulla sovrabbondanza di "pecore" a zonzo per il mondo.
Da parte mia, me ne resto a casa piuttosto che affrontare questo gregge turistico soffocante e alienante: è pure un piccolo contributo per l'ambiente.
Have you heard about Bhutan's approach of charging a very steep environmental tourist tax ($200 per person per night) to cover the impacts on the environment? This seems like one of the most radical "tax-and-levy" approaches out there, introduced after the pandemic to stem overtourism.
It’s a fantastic idea for Bhutan to do this. It generates revenue for the country while limiting tourism - which, in Bhutan’s case is most from the “far West”. It is a mirror of the frustration that reader PaulB expresses further up above.
If the Swiss feel frustrated with tourists from the “Far East” then I should imagine that countries like Bhutan equally feel frustrated with being swarmed by swarms if folks from the far West…one only has to witness the tons of trash being left behind on Mount Everest (albeit Everest is not in Bhutan) which is overrun by rich westerners wanting to be part of the “just been there” crowd to Mt Everest…? Again a mirror of the comment posted by reader Hotkurt further above.
I think folks tend to forget that sentiments expressed here mirror those for residents of the other tourism-dependent countries of Asia and Africa.
Lest it be forgotten, aside from banking and Davos, Switzerland’s economy is itself heavily dependent on tourism from within and abroad. Without foreign tourists coming to gawk at the combination scenery of mountainsides, rivers and lakes there is not much other reason for any rational person to come to CH to buy Swiss cheese chocolate or watch - all can be done via Amazon…. I suppose only two other things that are arguably reasons to come to CH…cows desalpes and yodelling but even those can be put paid with YouTube and live GoogleEarth…?
Lest it be forgotten yet again…every time these people from “Far East” come over in swarms they are still pumping money into Swiss coffers just by having to pay departure taxes from any of the Swiss airports (as part of their airfare) or having to pay for vignettes (as part of their tour bus price) for using the Swiss motorways…all of which is nothing to sniff at, surely?
No tour busses. They bring poor tourist groups who do not spend any money here, they bring their own food and drinks with them. They often stay in france or germany and take a day bus tour to Switzerland with 0 money going to locals. We get co2 and trash.
CO2 and mountains of waste : this is exactly what postmodern tourism leaves behind!
CO2 e montagne di rifiuti : è proprio questo ciò che lascia il turismo postmoderno!
well CO2 is food for trees, that will keep Switzerland green at least.
This is an interesting opinion because it reads as though you are referring to “poor tourist groups” that are only from foreign lands.
But then what about the poor Swiss tourists (surely this species too must exist? - the Swiss who cannot afford foreign holidays) who might live in Basel Land and decide to take a day trip to Appenzell but who only go there to look around and at lunch-time go back to their car and eat their own food and drink that they brought from home, and enjoy it thoroughly [while watching the other rich (foreign or Swiss?) tourists eat/drink in bars/restaurants] and then they might continue their sightseeing because Appenzell is so beautiful. And then they drive back home to Basel Land in time for dinner at home. Or maybe they might be train travelers if they are too poor to own their own car. So now we have these poor Swiss tourists who spent a whole day in Appenzell without spending one franc and so 0 money went to the local Appenzeller. Now imagine there are tens or hundreds of poor Swiss like these who do this same thing because they cannot afford to go abroad or don’t want to spend their franc while sightseeing.
So now to the questions:
1. Is your comment including these poor Swiss who are not money spenders for the locals also polluting with their CO2 and their ‘trash’ ?
2. Should they also be considered bad tourists even though they don’t come in tour buses (probably because they cannot afford to pay for a tour bus holiday)?
A penny for your thoughts on this not-so-impossible happenstance.
Mass tourism must be controlled in some aspects. On the one hand, those tourist places of great affluence, must have toilets and places to throw the garbage, in order not to produce great contaminations in a short time. Regardless of whether it can be considered ethical or not, due to maintenance costs, the toilets could be used with small coins of common use in the place. On the other hand, it is necessary to try to convince travelers that, however different their cultural anthropology may be, some gestures or attitudes are not well seen in the place, without becoming a reason for disrespect, for travelers regardless of their origin. César De Lucas Ivorra, San Juan De Alicante, Spain.
El turismo de masas debe ser controlado en algunos aspectos. Por una parte, aquellos lugares turísticos de gran afluencia, deben tener inodoros y lugares para tirar la basura, para no producir grandes contaminaciones en poco tiempo. Independientemente que pueda considerarse ético o no, debido a los costes del mantenimiento, los inodoros podrían ser utilizados con monedas de coste pequeño de uso común en el lugar. Por otra parte, hay que intentar convencer a los viajeros, que por distinta que sea su antropología cultural, algunos gestos o actitudes no están bien vistas en el lugar, sin llegar a ser un motivo de falta de respeto, para los viajeros independientemente de su procedencia. César De Lucas Ivorra, San Juan De Alicante, España.
I am also 'guilty'. I took my Indonesian family about one year ago to Lauterbrunnen, because in the media (and of course in reality too) the waterfalls looked inviting. Yes, there were quite a few tourists there, but I would not call it 'over tourism'. I think the locals appreciated the business.
Last year is not the same as this year. Summer 2020, 2021 and 2022 were relatively quiet in the Swiss alps due to the pandemic. Summer 2023 is completely different in comparison, it's really gone crazy with the number of tourists, many of whom seem completely unprepared for the mountain environment they are entering. I'm conscious that living in Basel I'm also a tourist in the Swiss Alps. This summer I learned I have to be really careful where I visit on summer weekends to not become part of the problem.
Clearly you were not around last summer if you thought it was quiet. It was just as bad. Difference is that tourists seems to be behaving worse and worse
This is a strange discussion because perhaps only the locals (non-business people) are complaining about the influx of tourists in their beloved local towns. I do not see the restaurants or business-owners complain about too much revenue or long queues at their shops.
The locals (non-business) can do the following:
1. Add additional taxation to the local businesses serving tourism to lower the local tax
2. Limit some days to "off limits" to tourists (example: Friday-Sunday are strictly locals only)
3. Insist on businesses to implement noise reduction measures
4. Make it more difficult for tourists to come to the location.
5. Recognise that asking for tourist money does not make fewer tourists, it only makes someone richer.
Your point number 3: did you read just recently that that is exactly what is being thought to be implemented for Venice. To charge day trippers €5 to visit Venice. 🤷🏽♂️ couldn’t be a more fantastic way to tune out the foot traffic and torture their own local businesses with lack of customers. 😊
Very good idea!!!!!!
Muy buena idea!!!!!!
The hotel and restaurants are generally not visited by the problem tourists and do not benefit. The problem is day tripper insta photo crowd who pitch up, spend nothing here (other than parking), cause havoc with their behaviour and then leave. The locals do not benefit at all from that, which unfortunately is where the problem comes from.
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