Industry Updates

Popular Travel Destinations that Suffer from Overtourism

Quoted from Ayo Jakarta, based on data from the German Foundation for World Population (DSW), by the end of 2019 there will be around 7.75 billion people living on Earth.

This massive human population encourages an increase in various things, one of which is the availability of tourist attractions. According to Emerald.com, an increase in the world’s population is a major cause of overtourism as the market is growing and thus the number of visitors is increasing. (Kompas.com)

What is Overtourism?

The term overtourism is used to describe the condition of a tourist destination/site that is overcrowded and visited by too many people. The phrase “too many” occurs when there are more visitors than the facilities of a host destination can handle, and when the quality of life or experience in an area has noticeably and significantly deteriorated.

Overtourism has also been used to refer to the negative impacts attributed to the tourism activities that were too massive and intensive in a certain area.

Tourism Sites that Suffer from Overtourism

Maya Bay, Thailand

Maya Bay is located in Phi Phi Island, Thailand, and was a shooting place for the Hollywood movie “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio back in the year 2000.

Since then, Maya Bay’s popularity skyrocketed and has been receiving a large number of tourists. The number of travelers who visited Maya Bay can amount to 5,000 people every day during the high season. This is even more ironic when we take into account that Maya Bay is only 3,750 square meters wide.

Kondisi Maya Bay yang dipadati pengunjung. Sumber: inhabitat.com
The condition of Maya Bay’s beach that is overcrowded by tourists and boats. Source: inhabitat.com

To illustrate, the number of visitors in Maya Bay back in 2008 was 170 people per day. However, in 2017, the number of visitors increased as many as 3,500 people every single day.

Perbandingan jumlah wisatawan di Maya Bay di tahun 2008 dan tahun 2017
Comparison of the number of visitors in Maya Bay in 2008 vs in 2017

Consequently, the sharp rise in the number of tourists brought detrimental effects on the ecosystem of Maya Bay, especially the coral reef.

Conservationists estimate that around 80% of the coral reef in Maya Bay is destroyed due to tourism activities, from being ruined by boat anchors, snorkellers, sunscreens that were washed away into the water, and also by pollution from boats as well as waste that is disposed of irresponsibly.

Wisatawan yang melakukan snorkeling di perairan dekat Maya Bay. Sumber: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Many tourists also snorkel around the waters of Maya Bay. Source: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

That is why in June 2018, the Thai government announced the closing of Maya Bay for a period of 4 months to give time for the ecosystems in Maya Bay to recover. The closure was then extended in October, and Maya Bay is planned to be reopened in the middle of 2021. 

The extension of the Maya Bay closure does not only aim to give more time for the environment to recover, (especially because there are 10,000 new coral reefs that have been planted around Maya Bay) but also to build additional infrastructure to facilitate the tourism activities such as ship dock, washrooms, as well as electronic ticketing system.

Moreover, since the closure of Maya Bay in 2018, blacktip reef sharks have been spotted to be swimming again in the waters of Maya Bay. This phenomenon proves that the decision to close Maya Bay from the public is the right step to help the environment recover to its original condition.

Venice, Italy

Who doesn’t know Venice? The beautiful city in Italy known for its canals and gondola rides. Unfortunately, Venice’s popularity is like a double-edged sword, that is, the large influx of tourists that are overcrowding Venice has caused many other problems.

In 2019, the number of tourists that visit Venice is estimated to be as many as 25 million people every year. This figure is expected to rise to 35 million tourists in 2025.

Wisatawan yang memadati kota Venesia, Italia. Sumber: Venezia Autentica/Sebastian Fagarazzi
The huge number of crowds in Venice, Italy. Source: Venezia Autentica/Sebastian Fagarazzi

The increasing number of tourists, ironically enough, is in contrast with the decreasing number of Venice residents. Around 2.6 residents left Venice every day and moved to other cities or places. Venice’s residence itself is around 54,000 people. Such a number already illustrated a decline in Venice’s population of around 120,000 people for the last 50 years.

Kondisi padatnya lalu lintas Gondola yang lalu lalang di kanal-kanal Venesia. Sumber: Alamy
Kondisi padatnya lalu lintas Gondola yang lalu lalang di kanal-kanal Venesia. Sumber: Alamy

The moving of Venice’s residents is caused by expensive housing and the rising cost of living. The young people in Venice can no longer afford to buy or even rent apartments in their own city. Hence, they decided to move to neighboring cities.

In addition, the number of Airbnb house rentals in Venice since 2015 has tripled from 2,441 properties to 8,320 houses. From that number, 80% of them are not even owned by the local residents. Instead, they are owned by agencies or foreign investors.

The big number of cruise ships that bring passengers to Venice also poses its own problems. This gigantic cruise often docked themselves in lagoons located very close to Venice’s historical sites, so there are concerns that those cruise ships will eventually ruined the historical buildings.

This concern is not without its reasons, because back in June 2019, MSC Opera cruise ship rammed into a dock and a tourist boat in Venice, causing 5 people to sustain some injuries. Moreover, Venice’s lagoon is also heavily polluted by the sewage from cruise ships.

Kapal penumpang yang rusak akibat bertabrakan dengan kapal pesiar di dermaga Venesia, Italia. Sumber: imone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images
A damaged tourist boat that was rammed by a cruise ship in a dock in Venice, Italy. Source: imone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images

Then there’s also the problem with waste. Venice has a complex waste collection and recycling system. Every day, the sanitation staff will knock the doors of each house to collect the waste to be carried away by ferries. The problem is, the same rules and fines regarding waste do not apply for tourists. This is even more concerning if we take into account that the garbage bins in Piazza San Marco should be emptied every half an hour during the holiday season.

Furthermore, based on the observation done by Don’t Waste Venice‘s team, who managed to navigate 7 km of the canals by boat and stumbled upon 500 pieces of garbage that were floating in the water. This means that there’s one piece of garbage for every 13 meters of the canal.

The types of waste that are found are namely discarded cans and plastic bottles cigarette butts, as well as plastic bags. The survey results also revealed that as much as 87% of the waste that clogged up the water of Venice’s canals is non-biodegradable plastic.

Machu Picchu, Peru 

Machu Picchu is an Inca citadel that was a private estate of an Emperor. This citadel was abandoned in the middle of 16th century after the Spanish conquest of Peru. Machu Picchu is located in the Andes mountains, around 2,000 meters above sea level.

Machu Picchu yang terletak di Pegunungan Andes, Peru. Sumber: https://www.ancient-origins.net/
Machu Picchu, located in the Andes Mountains. Source: https://www.ancient-origins.net/

Ever since it was discovered in 1911, Machu Picchu has become one of the most popular historical sites in South America amongst travelers. Macchu Pichu is even named as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is included as one of the 7 New Wonders of The World.

However, just like any other popular tourist destination, Machu Picchu experience many problems due to the huge number of tourists that visit this ancient citadel. Machu Pichu visitors are around 2,500 to 5,000 people every single day. With this amount, then there are approximately 1 million tourists annually.

Wisatawan yang memadati situs bersejarah Machu Picchu. Sumber: overtourism.com
A glimpse of Machu Picchu that was packed up by tourists. Source: overtourism.com

According the United Nations (UN), generally, tourists leave behind 14 tons of waste every day. In Machu Picchu itself, every visitor leaves around 2-3 kilograms of waste, be it in the form of plastic bottles, discarded drinking can, as well as fruit peels. According to Al Jazeera, the tourists in Machu Picchu left more than 5 tons of waste every single day. In 2013 alone, 50 tons of waste are removed from Machu Picchu.

The waste problem is then worsened by the fact that Machu Picchu is located 2,000 meters above sea level. The location and the terrain make it even more difficult to collect and transport the waste that is left behind by the tourists (same problem as in the Everest). In addition, around Machu Picchu itself, there was no vacant area to be used as a waste processing site.

To make matters worse, Machu Picchu does not have road access. Hence, the waste that was removed from Machu Picchu needs to transported by trains (Peru Rail). Based on Al Jazeera report, a ton of plastic bottle waste is managed daily from Machu Picchu, which was then carried by trains.

Tumpukan sampah dari Machu Picchu yang akan diangkut menggunakan kereta. Sumber: Pakhnyushchyy/Adobe stock
A pile of trash bags collected from Machu Picchu that will be transported by train. Source: Pakhnyushchyy/Adobe stock

On the other hand, local officials have tried creating a more efficient waste management system, but so far nothing have worked.

The waste problem in Machu Picchu is pretty serious, to the point that the UN recommends Machu Picchu to be included under the list World Heritage in Danger almost every year since 2007.

So What Can Be Done? 

The trend is clear: more and more tourism sites and destinations around the world are getting overcrowded to the point that it exceeds the place’s capacity to cater to the huge number of tourists. This will then followed by other problems.

Stiker dengan sentimen anti pariwisata di Barcelona yang dipasang sebagai bentuk protes terhadap kegiatan pariwisata yang menyebabkan banyak dampak negatif. Sumber: Pau Barrena/AFP/Getty Images
A sticker with anti-tourism sentiments found in Barcelone as a sign of protest towards tourism activities that resulted in many negative impacts. Source: Pau Barrena/AFP/Getty Images

So what can we do to help protect these tourist destinations? Apart from temporarily closing the tourist destinations, as seen in Boracay, Philippines, and Maya Bay, Thailand,  sustainable tourism practices needed to be implemented in order to suppress the detrimental effects of the tourism sector towards the tourist destinations. Some examples are:

1. Setting A Cap for the Number of Visitors 

When Maya Bay reopened later on in 2021, the number of visitors that could come will be limited to 2,400 people per day during peak season, and 1,200 people for the rest of the year. Time slots will also be applied, in which the time will be divided into two sessions, morning and afternoon.

As for Machu Picchu, the Peruvian Government is planning to divide the visiting time into two sessions: Morning Session (06.00 – 12.00) and Afternoon Session (12.00-17.00). Then, visitors will be given 4 hours at maximum to stroll around Machu Picchu. Moreover, the number of tourists during the morning session will be limited to 3,267 people, whereas in the afternoon the quota will be 2.673 people.

2. Charging A High Fee 

This concept has been implemented in Bhutan, Nepal, in which tourists are charged as much as $200 USD per person per night outside the peak season, and $250 USD during peak season.

Charging tourists with a high amount of fee has the same goal as the first point, which is to limit the number of visitors that came. Limiting the number of tourists is important not only for the place itself but also to give a better travel experience for each of the tourists.

After all, who likes visiting Venice, or Machu Picchu, or any other places in the world that are swarmed by a sea of people?

3. More Strict Regulations  

Be it regulations regarding tourism activities, or rules regarding the use of sunscreens that might be hazardous for coral reefs, or even policies about waste. Popular tourist destinations should be more strict in managing tourists’ behavior who visited the tourism sites. In Everest for example, hikers will be fined if they fail to bring their waste down.

In addition, banning things that will most likely become waste can also be taken into consideration. However, such bans should be compensated with existing alternatives, such as providing water dispensers for tourists so they can refill their own reusable water bottle.

Contoh larangan membawa kantong plastik di Taman Nasional di Namibia. Kredit foto: Brigitte Weidlich/https://www.gondwana-collection.com/
An example of a plastic bag ban in Namibia National Parks. Photo credit: Brigitte Weidlich/https://www.gondwana-collection.com/

4. Promoting Other Tourism Sites 

Ultimately, the best solution to protect tourist destinations that suffer from overtourism is to encourage tourists to visit other places. This solution can be done both ways, from the government/tourism industry side, and also from the tourists/travelers themselves.

From the government’s and tourism industry’s side, it is better to start promoting other potential travel destinations that are less popular or not well-known. Providing alternative travel destinations will certainly help to divert the huge number of tourists and reduce the burden on the already popular travel destinations.

From the tourists themselves, it will be even better to start looking for non-mainstream travel destinations and start exploring other places that are off the beaten path. Who knows, you might even found a hidden paradise just for yourself.

After all, Venice isn’t the only beautiful city in Italy, and there are more mesmerizing beaches in Southeast Asia beyond Bali, Boracay, or Maya Bay

Sebuah papan yang dipasang di pantai di Barcelona sebagai bentuk protes masyarakat lokal terhadap kegiatan pariwisata. Sumber: https://responsibletourismpartnership.org/
Signage located in a beach in Barcelona that conveys a message of protest from the local residents towards tourism activities Source: https://responsibletourismpartnership.org/

Overtourism and its Relation to Garbage

Massive waste production almost always becomes one of the main problems that are experienced by popular travel destinations. This is why sufficient waste management and recycling facilities are a crucial element in every tourism site in order to anticipate the potential waste problem that will arise.

As a social entrepreneur in responsible waste management, Waste4Change supports the implementation of sustainable tourism practices through a service called Community-Based Implementation (CBI). This service will give assistance to local communities to manage the waste that they produced in a responsible manner.

Read the article in Indonesian version in here.

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