I was interviewed for a article in the Globe and Mail about excessive tourism, from a Canadian perspective.
International tourism levels are back to pre-COVID levels, but there is uneven distribution, said Michael O’Regan, lecturer in tourism and events at Glasgow Caledonian University. “Traffic is highly concentrated in a relatively small number of “honeypot” destinations,“ he said, including Venice, Amsterdam, Barcelona, parts of Paris.
In Paris, another destination where the number of annual tourists exceeds the population, international air arrivals are projected to jump 13 per cent year-over-year from April to July.
Booking.com data also showed searches for Paris by Canadians surged 106 per cent year-over-year last month.
“It’s not that locals don’t want tourists, it’s just excessive,” Ms. Durakovic said.
O’Regan added that anti-tourism protests are typically small and targeted at politicians. They link to “deeper issues [around] housing costs, quality jobs and broader inequalities,” he said.
Destinations want and need tourism for economic reasons. But he added that some have focused on maximizing visitor numbers without adequately planning for the social, environmental and infrastructure impacts.
“Many of these honeypot destinations are near equally stunning towns,” he said. “Provins is just 90 minutes from Paris. Sirmione is an hour from Verona.”