Overtourism, in which excessive numbers of visitors to a city or attraction lead to crowding, environmental degradation, and fading cultural heritage, is a complex issue that involves everyone in the tourism and hospitality supply chain. From Peru’s Machu Picchu to Bali and Barcelona, local governments, businesses, and residents have realised that better management of resources is crucial. It is a prevailing theme that will continue as low-cost flights, an expanding global middle class, and social media that highlights “untouched” sites converge to intensify a yearning for travel.
Teeming with tourists
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Venice has been identified by the European Parliament to be in a state of overtourism, which puts pressure on the city’s infrastructure even as it scrambles to respond to more frequent flooding.