Is overtourism a real issue?
According to the latest figures from the the World Tourism Organisation, growth in global tourist arrivals was 7% in 2017, the largest increase since 2010.
International tourist arrivals set a new record at 1.32 billion in 2017, up by about 84 million.
It means the sector has now seen uninterrupted growth in arrivals for eight straight years.
This year is also set to continue the trend, with 6% growth in arrivals recorded between January and April.
With this in mind, our latest Mole Poll asked whether you consider overtourism to be a real issue and 57% of you said ‘yes’.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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