Protests in Spain will unfold if European officers fail to handle mass tourism’s damaging impact on the lives of residents, UNESCO’s Peter Debrine instructed “Squawk Field Asia” on Monday.
“It is turning into a really unstable scenario,” stated UNESCO’s senior challenge officer for sustainable tourism. “Civil society coming and making an attempt to make change is essential, as a result of on the finish of the day, these are elected officers, in order that they have to reply … to what the residents of their cities need.”
He cited the banning of large cruise ships in Venice, Italy, in 2021 for instance.
“Folks took to the streets on that situation,” he stated. “Cruise ships are now not going by the Grand Canal.”
Measures that work?
Cruise ships now dock farther from Venice, which helps the structural and environmental integrity of town.
However ship passengers nonetheless movement into its slim passageways by the 1000’s. Venice is anticipated to draw some 540,000 cruise ship passengers this 12 months, a 9% improve from 2023, in accordance with the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority.
In an try to skinny crowds, Venice implemented a 5-euro ($5.45) tourism tax on peak days this 12 months — a measure which, up to now, has not labored, reported Euronews.
Like Venice, Barcelona’s residents have lengthy struggled with the worldwide reputation of their hometown. Annually, the quantity of people that say that tourism advantages town decreases, whereas the quantity who really feel it’s detrimental rises, in accordance with a 2023 survey of Barcelona’s residents by its Metropolis Council.
“In Barcelona … they actually breached a threshold,” Debrine stated. However “there are answers.”
‘High quality over amount’ tourism
The pursuits of locals and vacationers should be rebalanced, stated Debrine.
A metropolis coping with too many vacationers could make a push for “high quality over amount” tourism — that’s, prioritizing big-spending vacationers over mass vacationers, he stated.
The technique gained traction throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, when security and staffing issues led locations world wide to euphemistically announce an all-out push for fewer luxurious vacationers, relatively than many finances ones.
“High quality” vacationers additionally assist right one other drawback: vacationers who behave badly.
“With the residents, it is not simply the numbers, but it surely’s how individuals are behaving,” Debrine instructed CNBC. Spaniards have complained for years that, vacationers drink excessively, litter, brawl and even run naked through the streets.
Debrine stated Amsterdam is exploring insurance policies to vary behaviors like these.
Along with cracking down on coach buses, vacationer retailers, new motels and short-term leases, the Dutch capital launched a journey marketing campaign in 2023 telling some visitors — namely young, male British tourists — to “stay away” in the event that they’re touring to town for medication or events.
Requires ‘tourism degrowth’
Civil teams are calling for Barcelona officers to implement quite a lot of insurance policies aimed toward establishing “tourism degrowth” — specifically, larger tourism taxes, limits on cruise ships and restrictions on short-term housing leases.
However vacationers additionally play a task in curbing mass tourism, stated Debrine.
“We should be extra acutely aware in our journey choices,” he stated, suggesting the idea of “mirror cities” as one technique.
“There’s an attractive metropolis south of Barcelona known as Tarragona. It has a variety of the great cultural sights,” he stated. “Much like Barcelona, it has an attractive seaside.”
However not like Barcelona, he stated, it “may benefit from extra tourism.”
