This week, anti-mass tourism demonstrations flood the streets of Mallorca as thousands of naysayers rally against its detrimental effects. In 2019, the Balearic Islands saw a record 14 million overseas holidaymakers, leading to mounting concerns over deteriorating living conditions, and a housing crisis for locals. Concurrently, protests are taking place in Malaga and the Canary Islands. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, where its 1.7 million populace hosted more than 12 million travellers last year, visitors have been sprayed with water pistols.
Various other popular tourist destinations are considering ways to temper the adverse effects tourism imposes upon locals’ environment and economy. Venice, now home to 50,000 residents compared to the 120,000 in the early 1950s, has stopped permitting access to cruise ships in the lagoon. Furthermore, they implemented a daily levy of €5 on visitors from April. However, the levy applied 485,000 times since its inception has yield negligible results.
Unesco’s initiative last year sparked attempts at constraining the ill-effects of mass holidaying with zero-growth strategies. 55 sites perilously at-risk from mass tourism including Timbuktu and The Old City of Jerusalem are now implementing viable tourism strategies. The Galapagos Islands, where tourist numbers peaked in 2023, has doubled admission fees from €100 to €200 per person. The new price follows the lead of other reserves like Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve which already impose significantly higher admission charges.
Similarly, Bali is implementing a tourist tax and Japan, whose tourism industry contributes approximately 9% to its GDP, are addressing plans to regulate the influx of tourists, with tourist hotspots such as Kyoto and Mount Fiji being inundated with visitors.
The combination of affordable travel and improved living conditions amplify the desire for travel, resulting in escalating environmental tolls. The question thus remains- is there a way to stop such harmful consequences?