The doorbell to Martinho de Almada Pimentelsa国际传媒檚 house is hard to find, and he likes it that way. Itsa国际传媒檚 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.
Theresa国际传媒檚 precious little of that for Pimentel during this summer of sa国际传媒渙vertourism.sa国际传媒�
Travelers idling in standstill traffic outside the sunwashed walls of Casa do Cipreste sometimes spot the bell and pull the string sa国际传媒渂ecause itsa国际传媒檚 funny,sa国际传媒� he says. With the windows open, he can smell the car exhaust and hear the sa国际传媒渢uk-tuksa国际传媒� 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.
sa国际传媒淣ow Isa国际传媒檓 more isolated than during COVID,sa国际传媒� the soft-spoken Pimentel, who lives alone, said during an interview this month on the veranda. sa国际传媒淣ow I try to (not) go out. What I feel is: angry.sa国际传媒�
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 sa国际传媒渙vertourismsa国际传媒� is familiar with the escalating consequences around the world: traffic jams in paradise. Reports of hospitality workers living in tents. And sa国际传媒渁nti-tourismsa国际传媒� protests intended to shame visitors as they dine sa国际传媒� 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 wesa国际传媒檒l scare away the tourists sa国际传媒� 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 itsa国际传媒檚 more than a problem for rich people.
sa国际传媒淣ot to be able to get an ambulance or to not be able to get my groceries is a rich people problem?sa国际传媒� said Matthew Bedell, another resident of Sintra, which has no pharmacy or grocery store in the center of the district. sa国际传媒淭hose donsa国际传媒檛 feel like rich people problems to me.sa国际传媒�
What is sa国际传媒榦vertourism,sa国际传媒� 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.
Itsa国际传媒檚 a hashtag that gives a name to the protests and hostility that yousa国际传媒檝e seen all summer. But look a little deeper and yousa国际传媒檒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 sa国际传媒渜uality tourism,sa国际传媒� generally defined as more consideration by visitors toward residents and less drunken behavior, disruptive selfie-taking and other questionable choices.
sa国际传媒淥vertourism is arguably a social phenomenon, too,sa国际传媒� 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. sa国际传媒淭his suggests that cultural expectations of personal space and expectations of exclusivity differ.sa国际传媒�
The summer of 2023 was defined by the chaos of the journey itself sa国际传媒� , . Yet by the end of the year, signs abounded that the COVID-19 rush of revenge travel was accelerating.
In January, the United Nationssa国际传媒� 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, theresa国际传媒檚 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 sa国际传媒済o fsa国际传媒攕a国际传媒攕a国际传媒� home.sa国际传媒� Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Spainsa国际传媒檚 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 mountainsa国际传媒檚 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 Fodorsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒渄e-touristingsa国际传媒� drives such as Amsterdamsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淪tay Awaysa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒渙vertourismsa国际传媒� is outdated.
Michael Osa国际传媒橰egan, a lecturer on tourism and events at Glasgow Caledonian University, argues that sa国际传媒渙vertourismsa国际传媒� has become a buzzword that doesnsa国际传媒檛 reflect the fact that the experience depends largely on the success or failure of crowd management. Itsa国际传媒檚 true that many of the demonstrations arensa国际传媒檛 aimed at the tourists themselves, but at the leaders who allow the locals who should benefit to become the ones who pay.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 been backlash against the business models on which modern tourism has been built and the lack of response by politicians,sa国际传媒� he said in an interview. Tourism sa国际传媒渃ame back quicker than we expected,sa国际传媒� he allows, but tourists arensa国际传媒檛 the problem. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a global fight for tourists. We cansa国际传媒檛 ignore that. sa国际传媒� So what happens when we get too many tourists? Destinations need to do more research.sa国际传媒�
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 Sintrasa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渄isorganizedsa国际传媒� traffic rules that seem to change without notice.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a pillar in the middle of the road that goes up and down and you cansa国际传媒檛 go forward because you ruin your car. So you have to somehow come down but you cansa国际传媒檛 turn around, so you have to back down the road,sa国际传媒� says Makela, a resident of Portugal for 36 years. sa国际传媒淎nd then people get so frustrated they come to our road, which also has a sign that says `authorized vehicles only.sa国际传媒� And they block everything.sa国际传媒�
Nobody disputes the idea that the tourism boom in Portugal needs better management. The predicted in April that the countrysa国际传媒檚 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, Sintrasa国际传媒檚 municipality has invested in more parking lots outside town and youth housing at lower prices near the center, the mayorsa国际传媒檚 office said.
More than 3 million people every year visit the mountains and castles of Sintra, long one of Portugalsa国际传媒檚 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.
Itsa国际传媒檚 not enough, say residents, who have organized into QSintra, an association thatsa国际传媒檚 challenging City Hall to sa国际传媒減ut residents firstsa国际传媒� with better communication, to start. They also want to know the governmentsa国际传媒檚 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.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e not against tourists,sa国际传媒� reads the groupsa国际传媒檚 manifesto. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e against the pandemonium that (local leaders) cannot resolve.sa国际传媒�
