Overtourism, characterized by overcrowded beaches, exorbitant rent prices, and perpetually packed tourist sites, is a global challenge. However, according to Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, the blame shouldn’t be placed on travelers themselves. Instead, he argues, the root cause lies in a significant **lack of management** by governments and destination organizations. Durband, a 40-year veteran of the travel and tourism industry, highlights the critical need for a paradigm shift, emphasizing the active role governments must play in effectively managing tourism to mitigate its negative impacts and ensure sustainability.
Key Takeaways: Rethinking Overtourism
- The problem isn’t the number of tourists, but the **lack of effective management** by governments and destination organizations.
- Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) need to transition from solely **marketing** destinations to actively **managing** visitor flows and impacts.
- China serves as a model, showcasing effective strategies to **manage capacity and visitor flows**, particularly at sites like the Leshan Giant Buddha.
- Innovative solutions like **supplementary viewing sites**, **technology to monitor visitor flows**, and **alternative transportation options** can effectively alleviate overcrowding.
- While demand for travel will continue to rise, **improved management strategies** are crucial for distributing visitors and mitigating negative consequences.
From Marketing to Managing: A Necessary Shift
Randy Durband advocates for a fundamental change within Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs). Instead of focusing primarily on attracting tourists, DMOs must adopt a proactive approach to **managing the impact** of tourism. This includes implementing strategies to control visitor numbers, improve infrastructure, and protect the environment and local communities. He notes that while this shift is underway, it is still in its early stages. Durband emphasizes, “**This is the great awakening that needs to take place, that government needs to understand — tourism is a sector that needs management.** There are ways to manipulate, to control, to add capacity … to tackle the problem.”
Examples of Successful Management
Durband cites several successful examples of tourism management. He points to the effective management of protected areas and national parks as a positive model, showcasing how strategic planning and regulation can minimize the negative consequences of high visitor numbers. However, he stresses that much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the responsibility of governments in managing tourism.
China: Masters of Crowd Control
Durband highlights China as a country that has successfully implemented strategies to manage large numbers of tourists. Using the Leshan Giant Buddha as an example, he explains how the municipal government constructed a large adjacent attraction which effectively disperses visitors. “Everyone comes for the Buddha,” he explains, “but the municipal government built an enormous attraction adjacent to it…that disperses the visitors.” This includes developed parkland and a cave filled with other impressive sculptures.
Technological Solutions for Effective Management
Further illustrating China’s approach, Durband mentions a central control center using video screens to monitor visitor numbers across various locations. This allows authorities to anticipate overcrowding, particularly at narrow staircases leading to the Buddha, ensuring visitor safety and a more manageable experience. “They know before the staircases are dangerously full,” he highlights. He suggests that similar technologies could benefit many iconic sites globally facing overcrowding issues.
Creating Supplementary Viewing Sites
Durband proposes the creation of supplementary viewing sites to reduce congestion around major attractions. These smaller, less crowded locations could offer pre-visits that better equip tourists so they won’t feel the need to linger as long at the main attraction. This approach would help to redistribute visitor flows across a wider area. He emphasizes that “**I think that many iconic cultural heritage sites around the world, where over-crowding is an issue, would benefit from supplementary, and ideally preliminary sites to view,** that prepare the visitor in such a way that they don’t feel compelled to linger at the main attraction.”
Managing Tourism “Flows”
The concept of managing “flows” of tourists is central to Durband’s approach. He gives the example of the small French village of Saint Guilhem le Désert, where changes were implemented after a tragic incident. The village restricted vehicle access on weekends and during peak season, directing visitors to park outside the village and utilize bicycles, walking, or electric shuttle buses to enter. This strategy effectively manages the influx of tourists while keeping the environment and the village sustainable.
Applying Flow Management to Major Cities
Durband suggests that even a major city like Barcelona, which receives approximately 17 million visitors annually, can adopt such strategies, referring to the July 6, 2024 anti-tourism protests. A Barcelona City Council spokesperson confirmed to CNBC Travel that managing visitor flows is a key focus, highlighting that “**The measure of success of tourism in Barcelona cannot focus on the volume of visitors but rather on managing the flow of people so as not to exceed a social and environmental limit.**”
The Challenge of Concentrated Tourist Activity
Durband acknowledges the challenges of implementing flow management strategies in cities like Barcelona, where tourists and residents often concentrate in the same areas – increasing friction. “Everybody wants to go to the same small area of Old Town, so the dispersion would require a quite substantial strategy to make that happen,” he states. Yet, he underscores that it is entirely achievable.
The Future of Tourism Management
Durband emphasizes that the issue is not about reducing demand, but rather increasing capacity and improving the strategic management of tourist flows. “**Demand is not going to go down,”** he asserts, citing factors such as the global population reaching 8 billion and the burgeoning middle class in the Asia-Pacific region. He concludes by highlighting that “So capacity needs to increase, and management approaches to disperse the visitor must improve dramatically.”