Travel writer Jan Morris described Venice as ‘this city that God built’. I’ve always wanted to go, but some residents would rather I didn’t. With global tourism expected to double by 2050, I don’t blame them.
Every place has a capacity for the number of tourists it can support. Super popular places like Venice will have to limit the number of tourists. There are already too many people looking at the view from St. Mark’s Square or the Rialto Bridge at the same time, too many day trippers, too many short-term vacation rentals instead of homes for locals, and too many cruise ship tourists coming in droves but spending too little money in their short stays.
Venice is one of the poster children for what is called overtourism – a destination that has become so popular that it is overwhelmed by visitors. We can limit numbers through higher prices, taxes or, in popular tourist areas, advance bookings and limited ticketing.
Italian city one tourist tax A five-euro charge for overnight tourists and for day trippers visiting the islands of the Venetian Lagoon in April. In England, Wales and Manchester have introduced visitor taxes, while the first so-called coastal tourist tax in Dorset was suspended after objections from hotels.
Places like Venice are popular because they’re beautiful. But if you’ve ever moved slowly with a crowd on a busy street or struggled to see a famous building, you know how overtourism can overshadow the experience of visiting the place you’re traveling to see. Yet we rarely stop to imagine how it affects the experience of the people who live there. Large-scale protests by angry residents — Canary Islands with Mallorca, BarcelonaDubrovnik — growing since 2017 and making headlines again in recent weeks.
During peak times, Venice hosted an average of 40,000 day trippers visiting the capital of the Veneto region, while the resident population in the northeast of the country has more than quadrupled to less than 50,000. Locals claim that prices have been driven up by the uncontrolled growth of vacation rentals. As rents rise, local businesses are struggling to stay afloat and are being replaced by international chains.
Locals have a hard time navigating the crowded streets, enduring the noise and inconvenience that can come with a large influx of tourists compared to the local population. They have also lost the ability to buy everyday goods as souvenir shops have replaced many local stores and businesses, and markets are filled with tourists taking photos but not buying anything.
The same goes for many global destinations that discourage hit-and-run travel during rush hour. Just look at Miami Beach, which earlier this year took the bold step of running an ad actively discouraging casual revelers from visiting the Florida city during the weeks when college students typically descend for their vacations, which run from late February to mid-April. Watch Breaking Up With Spring Break.
Last year, Amsterdam went a step further. Google searches for phrases like ‘stag party Amsterdam’ or ‘pub crawl Amsterdam’ turned up an ad campaign showing videos of tourists in handcuffs to deter potential travelers looking for a ‘messy night out.’ Amsterdam wants tourists — but only the right kind of tourists.
As visitors, we have a responsibility to the communities we join. We need to protect the places we love, and limiting tourism in places like Venice or Amsterdam can be the right thing to do. I interviewed Venice residents and tourism experts for a documentary I made about overtourism called Crowded Out for our travel company’s clients. They don’t want tourism to stop, but they want balance.
Here are some things you can do to travel more responsibly so you don’t contribute to the growing problem of overtourism:
1. If you can, stay longer. You’ll see more and spend more.
2. Stay in a hotel instead of renting a vacation home. Houses and apartments should be for residents to rent or buy.
3. Choose a local hotel over a global chain hotel; your money is more likely to go to your destination.
4. Avoid cruise ships that bring large groups; these fossil fuel-powered vessels also contribute significantly to air pollution, which affects human health and historical structures.
5. If possible, plan to visit outside of peak periods (typically the summer holidays of July and August).
6. Hire a guide who has a personal connection to the city. Ask them to share their knowledge with you to help you avoid overcrowding.
7. Spend your money in the community. Eat at local restaurants and buy something local if you visit the markets.
8. Support local artisans and producers. Many of these traditions and crafts are disappearing, but you can visit artisans and help them maintain their skills and the Indigenous way of life.
9. Consider visiting a similar location. Some beaches may be trending on social media — there will be plenty of beaches that are lower profile but just as beautiful.
10. Try to travel completely off-season; if you visit Venice in winter, not everything will be open, but see that as part of the charm and enjoy the city in mystical monochrome with fewer people.
The Venetians tell me they welcome the ‘right kind’ of tourism and tourists, so when I visit I plan to be one of them. And at busy times perhaps we should be prepared to pay a tourist tax premium for this privilege, perhaps the price of a cup of coffee?
