A travel expert has shared how British tourists could change their way of visiting hotspots to ease the fury many communities in popular destinations are currently feeling.
Europe has been gripped by a growing anti-tourist movement, as locals vent their anger at the ever-increasing tide of visitors to their cities and resorts – and the issues that this creates for their community.
In particular, Spain has seen numerous demonstrations involving tens of thousands of people protesting against mass tourism.
Activists argue that so-called overtourism is damaging the environment and placing intolerable strains on inadequate civilian infrastructure and water sources.
Locals also claim that mass tourism brings little benefit to their communities and that many are being priced out of the property market due to a proliferation of rental properties.
The fact is the tourism industry has been experiencing explosive growth since the fallow and lean years of the Covid pandemic.
The number of people crossing an international border as tourists in 2023 was 1.3 billion, which is not only a complete bounce-back post-Covid, but an almost 25-fold increase since the 1950s.
However, a US travel journalist now thinks she has the answer to help solve the problem of overtourism and calm local anger.
Paige McClanahan has just published a book, called The New Tourist, which provides some useful tips on how “to travel better”.
In an interview with The Guardian, she argued that travel was still an essential part of life, helping to broaden horizons and increase understanding of the world.
She said: “We need high-quality, meaningful interactions that are going to shift our perspectives and deepen our understanding of what it means to be a human being in such an interconnected world.”
Explaining the one thing travellers could do to help quash the anger felt by many at mass tourism, the author then explained her first law of new tourism, saying: “Travel to fewer places, and spend longer there.
“Understand that this might be the only time in your life that you have the opportunity to see this landscape, this wildlife, to come and meet these people.”
She said that travel should come with a “tinge of nostalgia, a bitter-sweetness” even while you’re doing it.
“Part of its bliss is that you may never come back, and even if you do, you will never re-experience this moment.”
Cities around Europe have started to implement new rules to curb tourist numbers, including in some cases, like Venice, introducing an entry charge for day visitors.
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