LONDON — Parts of Europe are grappling with an overtourism crisis, but that's not the case everywhere.
Beyond Europe's most popular cities with crowds shuffling past world-famous landmarks, some markets off the beaten path are begging for a share of that tourism.
There's clearly a demand imbalance. At some locales, tourists pay daily fees to enter some of the busiest cities and stand shoulder to shoulder to snap the perfect selfie next to iconic buildings or sculptures.
On the other side of the equation, there are wonderful, authentic, almost timeless villages and small towns in Italy where the population is dwindling and the essence that makes them special is dwindling with them, said Martin Brackenbury, director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism Global.
During a panel on overtourism at the World Travel Market, Brackenbury said the hospitality industry does not have the solution to provide a balance.
“We do not have the answers, but we need meaningful discussion,” he said.
Harold Goodwin, managing director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership, said these issues are not just coming to a head in Europe but also in other destinations around the world.
“In some destinations, we have seen the local community in rebellion, or worse, tourists are now putting off from going,” he said.
This summer, protestors in Barcelona, Spain, shouted at tourists to leave and used water pistols to spray travelers as part of larger outcry against rising rent costs and housing shortages.
The difficulty in addressing overtourism is that local governments and travel companies are often at odds over solutions, Brackenbury said.
“Governments want to improve standards of living, and actors in tourism are concerned with building their businesses,” he said.
In Europe, Italy is no stranger to overtourism concerns. Such fragility is most evident in Venice, but those protesting what they see as overtourism worry about their lifestyles as non-tourists in their own cities and the increases in costs, notably in rents and house prices.
At the recent Italian Hotel Investment Conference in Rome, the city’s mayor Roberto Gualtieri said there is no overtourism problem in the Italian capital.
Hospitality and travel industry players do have a responsibility to maintain the balance and authenticity of destinations, said Matt Callaghan, chief operating officer of EasyJet Holidays.
“Brands that have scale have to scale up their responsibilities. We, and others, must play a leading role to work with alternative destinations and our supply chains,” Callaghan said.
Brackenbury gave an example of a non-European destination he said is experiencing strain from overtourism.
“I am part of the problem. I have been to the Galapagos Islands. Not so many years ago, 80,000 a year went to the Galapagos. Now, 330,000 go, but it is vastly different to, say, Ibiza. The tortoises, the iguanas, they cannot answer back,” he said. “The only sensible way I see is to limit numbers per day, and that is a government decision, and that is difficult as the population has grown from 2,000 to 36,000 as Ecuadorians realize they can make a better living on the islands than on the mainland.”
Tourism policy needed
Part of the problem is there is a lack of public policy on overtourism and tourism balances, said Helgi Eysteinsson, CEO of Iceland Travel. He added there is also much negative media coverage on the subject.
“We think in Iceland [overtourism] has been overexaggerated. We do understand its risks to sustainability, but more than 80% of Icelanders are in favor of tourism. Ultimately, it still comes down to a lack of public policy,” he said.
Eysteinsson said in Iceland the situation is complicated. The country has fewer than 400,000 residents, most in the southwest corner around the capital of Reykjavik.
“There are areas that complain they do not see any tourists. It is our task to seasonally and geographically move tourism into winter and shoulder seasons,” he said.
Trust and confidence always have played a crucial role in why guests chose Destination A, rather than Destination B, panelists said.
“Guests have the expectation that the big brands are doing the right things, but are they?” Callaghan said.
He said EasyJet Holidays employs local destination management companies for 99% of its ground handling offerings.
“That makes business sense, too. Surely it is better for that to be done by locals who know the destinations and are proud to be its representatives,” he said.
Europe's beach destinations have similarly experienced massive tourist arrivals for years.
Ibiza is a small island part of Spain’s Balearic Islands that is considered to have an overtourism problem. The island's government is working on crafting policy to address the issue, said Pedro Homar, managing director of Fundación Turismo Palma and a former director of marketing at Iberostar Hotels & Resorts.
“We used to have six cruise ships a day and 30,000 [cruisers]. Now, only three are allowed,” he said, adding that next year will bring a change for rental cars as well. "There now are 120,000, but soon that will be 75,000. There is a cap on beds.”
The hope is that price will function as a cap, Homar said.
“We are spending €1.2 million [$1.3 million] in IT to analyze and aid tourist flow. We have started a scheme for visitors to reserving sunbeds. We have been reserving space on beaches for 30 years, so IT will just allow the flow and process to be easier. We will even close beaches if they become oversaturated,” he said.
But could such policies make travel more restrictive or elitist?
“Will we have tourism flows focused on individual sites? Maybe they should be like theaters where there is a finite number of seats? Yes, spontaneity is eroded, but that is just the way it is going to be,” Brackenbury said.
The arguments on overtourism used to sit in the middle of Ibiza’s political divide, Homar said. But doing something about it now is a campaign message from all the political parties.
“Tourism has become the devil to unleash frustration on issues of housing, schools, mobility and livelihoods. For many it is the common enemy,” he said.
Callaghan reiterated that government leaders must start the dialogue.
“They need to talk with the private sector, who have access to millions of consumers. Where is the compelling offer for them and guests?” he said.
“But let us not reinvent things that change tourism,” Homar added.