Hospitality Investor reports on how “overtourism” is creating tension in Spain’s tourist hotspots.
https://loom.ly/XPgoDV4
💡With insight from:
Peter DeBrine, Expert in Sustainable Tourism, UNESCO
Majorca Daily Bulletin, S.L.
Emma Brennan, Head of Media & Communications, UK’s ABTA
Michael J. O’ Regan, PhD, Lecturer in Tourism & Events, Glasgow Caledonian University
Spokesperson for Balearic Islands Government
hashtag#RR24 hashtag#overtourism hashtag#spain
My contribution:
Michael O’Regan, a lecturer in tourism and events at Glasgow Caledonian University’s Glasgow School for Business and Society agreed that the term overtourism is too broad a term for the problem.
He said: “Overtourism is a very easy word to use and perhaps that’s one of my many concerns; it’s a catch-all phrase as it’s applied to anything or any perception [of too many tourists].
“Excessive tourism depends on the days of the week, the time of the day and what they mean by overtourism.”
But he admitted it is a problem, with Marbella’s issues being compounded by the increase of Airbnb rentals which have caused accommodation issues, both in availability and price, as well as the ensuing growth in car rentals as travellers no longer take advantage of traditional holiday infrastructure, such as a group transfer on a single bus.
O’Regan added if the problems are specific to each destination, then the solutions must be too.
He said: “It’s up to destinations to decide what sort of mix they want between all-inclusive resorts and local residences available for tourist rental.
“It’s very difficult for local politicians as they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t but they failed to grasp the issue around short-term rentals.”
O’Regan argued that simply banning Airbnb-style rentals in Mallorca could harm the local economy as much as the current situation as local residents have invested heavily in creating the accommodation and now depend on the income.
While many destinations simply set their sights on attracting a better quality of traveller, even that can cause unexpected problems
O’Regan said: “You can see that in Marbella and Malaga, where they are saying we need to open up routes to the US where visitors spend 10 times the amount as a local visitor or a UK visitor, but it’s not a solution.
“It could lead to more internationally-owned hotels, more swimming pools and more facilities [requiring space and water].
“The solution is different for every destination; they can limit new hotels, swimming pools, short term rentals and do more enforcement and inspections on short term holiday rentals.”
Whatever the solution turns out to be, it is safe to say that in Mallorca, where tourism accounts for about 45 per cent of the island’s GDP, local government has listened to the summer’s protests.