Over-tourism needs to be tackled, industry told
Over-tourism is a growing issue that needs to be tackled by the travel industry, ABTA Convention delegates were told.
Chief executive Mark Tanzer said the recent protests against tourism in Spain, albeit by a small group, highlighted a problem of overcrowding in some landmark tourist destinations.
He said the growth of the sharing economy has exacerbated the problem but wasn’t the only cause.
"Growth in global tourism is also putting pressure on destinations and we must get better at measuring quality tourism and not just numbers. Right now, international arrivals seems to be the only yard stick for success," he said.
He called on the traditional travel trade to work with the sharing economy to come up with a ‘proper solution’.
Speaking later in the day, Carnival Corporation president and CEO Donald Arnold said, as a global cruise company, it needs to work with locals to make sure they feel cruise arrivals are ‘part of the fabric’.
Referring specifically to problems in Venice, where earlier this year thousands of people voted in an unofficial referendum to ban giant cruise ships from the city’s lagoon, he insisted that cruise port calls bring significant economic benefits.
He dismissed critics who say cruise passengers don’t bring any value to local businesses.
"That’s a myth, as in reality cruise guests spend disproportionately more and are very valuable guests," he said.
He said cruise guests often buy souvenirs, book high end tours and eat in local restaurants to experience local food and drink.
But he admitted the cruise line needs to make sure it educates its customers about how to act when they arrive in a destination.
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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