Although tourism is good to bring in local income and provide jobs, things are getting out of hand in many destinations (the Lake District, the city of Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon – due to the Shakespeare connection). The Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water now has residents concerned over ‘TikTok visitors’ who descend to take selfies with beautiful backdrops. But leave litter behind, having no appreciation of local nature and heritage.
The same is happening abroad. Many popular tourist cities (Venice, Rome, Paris) are all taking action, fed up of tourists descending on their homes to buy junk. Then taking tours operated by outside companies, so not even supporting local jobs.
In Barcelona, locals have taken to the streets to ‘tell tourists to go home’. This beautiful coastal city now literally can have 35,000 people descend from cruise ships all at once onto one main street. To purchase tacky souvenirs, then off they go to their next destination.
Here are a few ideas that countries abroad are using to tackle ‘too much tourism’, that perhaps we could use in England:
- Take your litter with you, and follow the Countryside Code. You wouldn’t want someone coming into your house or garden and dropping litter, so don’t do this on someone’s else’s patch. For coastal areas, read how to keep dogs safe by the seaside.
- Encourage staggered off-season travel, so tourism industries receive income year-round, rather than just in a short season, which creates litter, traffic and noise for locals.
- Avoid the same tourist hotspots, and consider booking with independently-run small guesthouses, in nearby areas. These are quieter, and likely more relaxing to rest explore.
- Book with small operators, not the big guns that don’t bring much income into an area. And often clog up roads with big coach parties etc.
- Use public transport if possible, to avoid clogging roads with traffic (many big hotels also charge a fortune for parking, so you’ll also save money). This also helps to encourage councils to invest in better bus routes.
- Quick visits can put a heavy burden on areas. Far better to stay a few days longer to get to know the place. That’s real travel, not just one night in an expensive hotel!
- Treat and pay hotel staff well. Top London hotels (that sometimes charge thousands for just one night) often pay minimum wage to staff, with shoddy accommodation. Clean for Good pays its staff the higher voluntary London Real Living wage (and uses Delphis Eco cleaning products to protect the health of its staff, as well as the planet).
- Venice has banned loud speakers, and is bringing a ‘tourist tax’ to fund litter clean-ups. Barcelona is planning the same (council workers have to empty dustbins 14 times daily). And in Tuscany, dropped cigarette litter has led to wildfires.
- The mayor of Florence has banned short-term lets, to bring down property rental prices for residents. The same is happening in St Ives (Cornwall), where second-homes lay empty for most of the year, while locals are priced out of the housing market.
