The doorbell to Martinho de Almada Pimentel害羞草研究所檚 house is hard to find, and he likes it that way. It害羞草研究所檚 a long rope that, when pulled, rings a literal bell on the roof that lets him know someone is outside the mountainside mansion that his great-grandfather built in 1914 as a monument to privacy.
There害羞草研究所檚 precious little of that for Pimentel during this summer of 害羞草研究所渙vertourism.害羞草研究所�
Travelers idling in standstill traffic outside the sunwashed walls of Casa do Cipreste sometimes spot the bell and pull the string 害羞草研究所渂ecause it害羞草研究所檚 funny,害羞草研究所� he says. With the windows open, he can smell the car exhaust and hear the 害羞草研究所渢uk-tuk害羞草研究所� of outsized scooters named for the sound they make. And he can sense the frustration of 5,000 visitors a day who are forced to queue around the house on the crawl up single-lane switchbacks to Pena Palace, the onetime retreat of King Ferdinand II.
害羞草研究所淣ow I害羞草研究所檓 more isolated than during COVID,害羞草研究所� the soft-spoken Pimentel, who lives alone, said during an interview this month on the veranda. 害羞草研究所淣ow I try to (not) go out. What I feel is: angry.害羞草研究所�
This is a story of what it means to be visited in 2024, the first year in which global tourism is expected to set records since the coronavirus pandemic brought much of life on Earth to a halt. Wandering is surging, rather than leveling off, driven by lingering revenge travel, and so-called in part for skyrocketing housing prices.
Anyone paying attention during this summer of 害羞草研究所渙vertourism害羞草研究所� is familiar with the escalating consequences around the world: traffic jams in paradise. Reports of hospitality workers living in tents. And 害羞草研究所渁nti-tourism害羞草研究所� protests intended to shame visitors as they dine 害羞草研究所� or, as in Barcelona in July, douse them with water pistols.
The demonstrations are an example of locals using the power of their numbers and social media to issue destination leaders an ultimatum: Manage this issue better or we害羞草研究所檒l scare away the tourists 害羞草研究所� who could spend their $11.1 trillion a year elsewhere. Housing prices, traffic and water management are on all of the checklists.
Cue the violins, you might grouse, for people like Pimentel who are well-off enough to live in places worth visiting. But it害羞草研究所檚 more than a problem for rich people.
害羞草研究所淣ot to be able to get an ambulance or to not be able to get my groceries is a rich people problem?害羞草研究所� said Matthew Bedell, another resident of Sintra, which has no pharmacy or grocery store in the center of the district. 害羞草研究所淭hose don害羞草研究所檛 feel like rich people problems to me.害羞草研究所�
What is 害羞草研究所榦vertourism,害羞草研究所� anyway?
The phrase itself generally describes the tipping point at which visitors and their cash stop benefitting residents and instead cause harm by degrading historic sites, overwhelming infrastructure and making life markedly more difficult for those who live there.
It害羞草研究所檚 a hashtag that gives a name to the protests and hostility that you害羞草研究所檝e seen all summer. But look a little deeper and you害羞草研究所檒l find knottier issues for locals and their leaders, none more universal than housing prices driven up by short-term rentals like Airbnb, from Spain to South Africa. Some locales are encouraging 害羞草研究所渜uality tourism,害羞草研究所� generally defined as more consideration by visitors toward residents and less drunken behavior, disruptive selfie-taking and other questionable choices.
害羞草研究所淥vertourism is arguably a social phenomenon, too,害羞草研究所� according to an analysis for the World Trade Organization written by Joseph Martin Cheer of Western Sydney University and Marina Novelli of the University of Nottingham. In China and India, for example, they wrote, crowded places are more socially accepted. 害羞草研究所淭his suggests that cultural expectations of personal space and expectations of exclusivity differ.害羞草研究所�
The summer of 2023 was defined by the chaos of the journey itself 害羞草研究所� , . Yet by the end of the year, signs abounded that the COVID-19 rush of revenge travel was accelerating.
In January, the United Nations害羞草研究所� tourism agency predicted that worldwide tourism would exceed the records set in 2019 by 2%. By the end of March, the agency reported, more than 285 million tourists had travelled internationally, about 20% more than the first quarter of 2023. Europe the most-visited destination. The World Travel & Tourism Council that 142 of 185 countries it analyzed would set records for tourism, set to generate $11.1 trillion globally and account for 330 million jobs.
Aside from the money, there害羞草研究所檚 been trouble in paradise this year, with Spain playing a starring role in everything from management problems to skyrocketing prices and drunken tourist drama.
Protests erupted across as early as March, when graffiti in Malaga reportedly urged tourists to 害羞草研究所済o f害羞草研究所敽π卟菅芯克鶖害羞草研究所� home.害羞草研究所� Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Spain害羞草研究所檚 Canary Islands against visitors and construction that was overwhelming water services and jacking up housing prices. In Barcelona, protesters shamed and squirted water at people presumed to be visitors as they dined al fresco in touristy Las Ramblas.
In Japan, where tourist arrivals fueled by the weak yen were expected to set a new record in 2024, Kyoto banned tourists from certain alleys. The government set on people climbing Mount Fuji. And in Fujikawaguchiko, a town that offers some of the best views of the mountain害羞草研究所檚 perfect cone, leaders erected a large black screen in a parking lot to deter tourists from overcrowding the site. by cutting holes in the screen at eye level.
Air travel, meanwhile, , the U.S. government reported in July. UNESCO has warned of potential damage to protected areas. And Fodor害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� urged people to reconsider visiting suffering hotspots, including sites in Greece and Vietnam, as well as areas with water management problems in California, India and Thailand.
Not-yet-hot spots looked to capitalize on 害羞草研究所渄e-touristing害羞草研究所� drives such as Amsterdam害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所淪tay Away害羞草研究所� campaign aimed at partying young men. . Visits to that country by foreign tourists jumped 25% the first seven months of 2024 over last year.
Tourism is surging and shifting so quickly, in fact, that some experts say the very term 害羞草研究所渙vertourism害羞草研究所� is outdated.
Michael O害羞草研究所橰egan, a lecturer on tourism and events at Glasgow Caledonian University, argues that 害羞草研究所渙vertourism害羞草研究所� has become a buzzword that doesn害羞草研究所檛 reflect the fact that the experience depends largely on the success or failure of crowd management. It害羞草研究所檚 true that many of the demonstrations aren害羞草研究所檛 aimed at the tourists themselves, but at the leaders who allow the locals who should benefit to become the ones who pay.
害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 been backlash against the business models on which modern tourism has been built and the lack of response by politicians,害羞草研究所� he said in an interview. Tourism 害羞草研究所渃ame back quicker than we expected,害羞草研究所� he allows, but tourists aren害羞草研究所檛 the problem. 害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 a global fight for tourists. We can害羞草研究所檛 ignore that. 害羞草研究所� So what happens when we get too many tourists? Destinations need to do more research.害羞草研究所�
Of visitors vs being visited
Virpi Makela can describe exactly what happens in her corner of Sintra.
Incoming guests at Casa do Valle, her hillside bed-and-breakfast near the village center, call Makela in anguish because they cannot figure out how to find her property amid Sintra害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所渄isorganized害羞草研究所� traffic rules that seem to change without notice.
害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 a pillar in the middle of the road that goes up and down and you can害羞草研究所檛 go forward because you ruin your car. So you have to somehow come down but you can害羞草研究所檛 turn around, so you have to back down the road,害羞草研究所� says Makela, a resident of Portugal for 36 years. 害羞草研究所淎nd then people get so frustrated they come to our road, which also has a sign that says `authorized vehicles only.害羞草研究所� And they block everything.害羞草研究所�
Nobody disputes the idea that the tourism boom in Portugal needs better management. The predicted in April that the country害羞草研究所檚 tourism sector will grow this year by 24% over 2019 levels, create 126,000 more jobs since then and account for about 20% of the national economy. driven upward in part by a growing influx of foreign investors and tourists seeking short-term rentals.
To respond, Lisbon announced plans to halve the number of tuk-tuks allowed to ferry tourists though the city and built more parking spaces for them after residents complained that they are blocking traffic.
A 40-minute train ride to the west, Sintra害羞草研究所檚 municipality has invested in more parking lots outside town and youth housing at lower prices near the center, the mayor害羞草研究所檚 office said.
More than 3 million people every year visit the mountains and castles of Sintra, long one of Portugal害羞草研究所檚 wealthiest regions for its cool microclimate and scenery. Sintra City Hall also said via email that fewer tickets are now sold to the nearby historic sites. Pena Palace, for example, began this year to permit less than half the 12,000 tickets per day sold there in the past.
It害羞草研究所檚 not enough, say residents, who have organized into QSintra, an association that害羞草研究所檚 challenging City Hall to 害羞草研究所減ut residents first害羞草研究所� with better communication, to start. They also want to know the government害羞草研究所檚 plan for managing guests at a new hotel being constructed to increase the number of overnight stays, and more limits on the number of cars and visitors allowed.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e not against tourists,害羞草研究所� reads the group害羞草研究所檚 manifesto. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e against the pandemonium that (local leaders) cannot resolve.害羞草研究所�
