Europe has long been home to destinations that offer people all kinds of tourism experiences – from adventures to beach holidays to historical tours.
This has made it a world museum, attracting visitors from all over the world at a rate that, apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, has increased relatively steadily.
Now we live in a time when overtourism has taken hold in Europe’s most popular cities. Anti-tourism protests have Spain under control in recent weeks, when activists took to the streets and sprayed visitors with water pistols.
Does this come as a surprise? Perhaps to some, as it is still relatively unusual for locals to take to the streets to protest against tourism. However, scientists predicted that tourism would reach this point long before it made headlines.
One of the first models to explain this was developed by George Doxey, who developed the so-called “Irritation index” (or “Irridex”) model in 1975. He assumed that a place initially welcomes tourists with euphoria, but that this mood turns to apathy and irritation as their numbers increase. The final stage – the signs of which we are now seeing – is hostility towards tourists.
The mood becomes negative when the quality of life of locals deteriorates, for example when affordable housing becomes unaffordable. City authorities respond by subtly restricting tourism by additional costs and caps on short-term rental facilities as visitor numbers have skyrocketed since restrictions were eased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This approach was reactive rather than preventive. This also applies to cities that once wanted tourists but did not know how to restrict them when that happened. Barcelona, for example, did not appear on the map until the 1990s, when it the Summer OlympicsToday it is one of the most visited cities in Europe and is the place where many of the Tourism in recent times The game is centered.
“The main reason for this is that the places that suffer from overtourism are places where no measures were taken to prevent it many years ago,” says Richard Butler, emeritus professor of hotel and tourism management at the University of Strathclyde, who has studied tourism trends in Europe.
Of course, mass tourism is not only the fault of authorities, visitors or aid services. Made possible by cheap travelit was a force forever by creating jobs, promoting cultural exchange and generating revenue for local authorities.
“One thing that is often forgotten in all the noise of overtourism is that the locals are part of it. They participated in it voluntarily at some point,” he said. Assets“That does not mean that they have to take all the garbage, the rubbish, [and] Noise pollution that they are now experiencing. But they are not entirely innocent.”
Butler believes that the feelings of locals cannot be categorized into a specific type, as their emotions may vary depending on their contact with tourists. For example, the owner of a souvenir shop may feel differently about tourism than the residents of a popular neighborhood.
“There are people who hate tourism and want to get rid of it altogether. There are people who want more tourism. And then there is the mass in the middle who are a bit pissed off by some aspects of tourism but see that it has value and brings in money,” he said.
A model he developed, Butler’s Life Cycle, examines the impact of tourism on a destination in different Stages. When tourists discover a place, it begins to develop and grow to accommodate many visitors. Eventually, it reaches a stagnation point as tourist numbers have peaked. From this point, it is up to the city to determine the way forward, which will either lead to a decline in tourism or rejuvenation with more investment and attractions.
“What we are seeing now is not so much that tourists are not going because it is crowded, but that locals are refusing to go because it is too crowded. They are crossing the ‘line’,” he said.
Does this mean that tourism must stop growing altogether? Not really. In fact, a standstill will probably be understood as a kind of “warning,” Butler said. Instead, there needs to be more dialogue to find a balance between what Type of tourists This allows residents to feel comfortable while continuing to generate money for the local economy and tourism.
“Tourism is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it brings in a lot of money, but on the other hand, it causes unrest,” says Butler.