When travel is done properly it can change everything – it expands your mind, gives you a deeper understanding of the world around you, changes you for the better and boosts local economies. However, due to the availability of cheaper flights, more affordable accommodation and a generally increased desire to see the world, destinations are becoming fuller and having a detrimental impact on the environment and the lives of people living in certain places across the world. 

Should Over Tourism Stop You From Travelling

The answer is of course is no, but we should all remember that travel is a bonus that only a percentage of people have the good fortune of experiencing, but it is not a human right so we should all be thinking about the way we travel and how to cause as little impact as possible.

I am definitely not saying that that we shouldn’t visit the beautiful and popular destinations. I read an article recently that said people should stop visiting places such as Iceland, Venice, Barcelona as they are already full and busy with tourists. The problem is, if all of the tourists did leave and stop visiting these places would suffer, there are cities that rely on the tourism market in order to survive.

So how do we still visit these places without contributing to the problem?

I mentioned in my previous post about responsible travel, the issues involving Airbnb and that we should all consider the alternatives in order to avoid upsetting the locals.

Another thing to think about is how and when we visit these destinations in the first place…

Cruise Ships

Cruise ships are the biggest source of over tourism for many of the largely impacted destinations. Thousands of people arrive simultaneously into cities like Venice, a city which is simply unable to cope with this number of people. It is literally sinking under the weight of tourists.

I can’t help but wonder if there should be restrictions of the sizes of future cruise ships being built and that there be limits on the number of people able to visit certain places at any one time.

Shoulder Season

As well as thinking about how you get to a place it is also important to consider when you travel. For some people they are heavily restricted by times such as school holidays – these are always the busiest times of year, so if you are not restricted then be sensible and avoid hugely popular destinations at peak season.

Instead, aim for a period of time known as the shoulder season when it is a significantly cheaper and quieter time to travel.

A key factor for me is how we behave during our travels:

Be a Decent Human Being

We all want to travel to a beautiful destination, stay somewhere and be supporting the local economy, and have a great time, but what if our “great time” caused a disturbance and grievance to the people who live there. Unfortunately foreign travellers, regardless of their nationality, have developed a reputation for late night binge-drinking, committing vandalism and causing damage to buildings and historical landmarks. Then there is the issue of littering, even at places as incredible and remote as Mount Everest there are teams of people who spend time, money and energy clearing up after others.

No matter where you are in the world, clear up after yourself.

I have a small suspicion that the issue of over tourism isn’t necessarily about the overall number of people visiting a destination, but actually how many arrive at the same time and how much of a disturbance they cause.

So next time you visit a place, no matter how excited you are to see and do everything, just remember that people live in these locations and they have to deal with the effect of your visit and the aftermath.

Over tourism shouldn’t stop you travelling the world, just do it properly and people won’t want you to leave, or be frustrated that you visited in the first place.

How do you avoid contributing to the issue of over tourism?

Let me know in the comments.