Don't visit Etretat, Amsterdam or Cornwall this year. This is the surprising message that the guidebook publisher Fodor's Travel wanted to convey with its anti-guidebook 2023. An initiative that goes against its usual role, attesting to the collective awareness of the consequences that overtourism can have. Indeed, if tourism contributes to the development and economy of a destination, its excess can be less positive in the short and long term.
The publisher emphasises that this "No-List" is neither a boycott nor a ban but rather a "call to travellers to think carefully about the choices we make. We can have a positive impact on the world we love so much".
It also adds that "many of the effects of overtourism remain unquantified: stress on supply chains, destruction of wildlife habitat and overcrowding. As climate change intensifies, the damage may make popular destinations inhospitable to travellers and depress their economies".
Destinations that raise their voices
Faced with ever-increasing crowds of tourists, more and more destinations are expressing their frustration. The front line is Amsterdam, which is not hiding its irritation with the many gangs of young people who come to the Dutch capital only for festive reasons. In addition to contributing to a bad image of the city, these visitors generally show little respect, especially towards the locals.
To curb this party tourism, the city council is tightening the screws on its policy on drug use and is considering closing the windows of the famous red light district earlier. A campaign that is part of a package of measures with which Amsterdam wants to defend itself against 'overtourism'. Indeed, more than 18 million visitors are expected in 2023 while the capital has only 900,000 inhabitants. Amsterdam wants to promote qualitative rather than quantitative tourism.
The same is true of the Balearic Islands, which wants to introduce measures to reduce the number of budget tourists in favour of visitors who are more involved in the local economy. The president of the Balearic government, Francina Armengol, wants to reduce the number of budget hotels and the number of cruise passengers. As an example of this commitment, she has announced that in the 2023 budgets, around 10 million euros will be earmarked for the...
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