WTM London 2025 looked at the issue of over-tourism

In a WTM session entitled “Rethinking Over-tourism: Are we ready for real accountability?”, Aleix Rodriguez Brunsoms from Skift looked at the increasingly visible effects of overcrowding generated by tourism.

Rodriguez Brunsoms commented that recent anti-tourism protests in Southern Europe were aimed not at tourists themselves but at the tourism model. But he pointed out Europe receives nearly a quarter of global tourism volume.

Addressing the causes within the tourism industry, he highlighted poorly managed air and bed capacity, seasonal funneling by tour operators, and marketing efforts that didn’t tie up with a metric-based growth strategy. Meanwhile, external factors were highlighted such as the limitation of the school calendar and social media trendsetting.

Intrepid Travel’s Joanna Reeve said more collaboration was needed, with suppliers considering where and when they traveled, tackling unsociable behavior and ensuring the money customers spent stayed local. Typically, only 20% of customer spend stays in the destination, she pointed out.

However, Reeve struck an optimistic note by saying the operator saw the market for authentic, sustainable experiences “coming towards us.”

Malta Tourism Authority is now looking at visitor spend rather than volume said Tolene van der Merwe. “It’s about locals understanding the value of tourism and visitors understanding the value of the culture,” she said.

She also highlighted the success of a recent initiative which requires visitors to the Instagram favorite the Blue Lagoon to reserve free tickets in advance. It has reduced numbers from 12,000 at one time to 4,000.

Chris Fair, President & CEO, Resonance Consultancy, said of tourism protests: “Travel has been a bit of a target for social and economic discontent.”

However, he thought considering the well-being of locals in tourism areas should be part of a destination’s strategy. “We need a more holistic approach to how we measure tourism. That will be the first step in how we manage it better in future.”

He added if tourism was seen as contributing to local quality of life, the industry would earn a seat at the table of destinations’ wider planning discussions.

Events can help reshape destinations

Elsewhere, a session looked at how live event tourism is now a “destination magnet”.  Kate Irwin from Skift referenced its proprietary research which found that 68% of global travelers start their trip planning with the experience rather than the destination.

Singapore is at the forefront of this shift, with the city-state seeing a significant boost to its tourism revenues thanks to its hosting of six Taylor Swift concerts and a Formula One race. Kershing Goh from the Singapore Tourist Board explained how live tourism and major events are part of a longer-term government strategy to change the global perception of Singapore to somewhere for the world to “live, work, invest and play”.

Both panelists advised other destinations to consider “alternative collaboration and partnership models” between event organizers, tourist boards and trade partners to not only attract live events but also to maintain momentum off the back of success.

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