Urban tourism was an unstoppable growth engine until it came to an abrupt halt with the advent of covid-19 in 2020. Overcrowding in tourist cities was a problem, and excessive tourism was a growing trend. The path to the unsustainable was temporarily halted by the pandemic.
World tourism has been greatly affected by the coronavirus. Mobility was an essential activity in the spread of coronavirus. It was therefore severely restricted after the outbreak. International travel requires proof of non-contagion even today.
Prior to 2020, heritage cities were suffering from an overtourism problem that negatively affected the quality of life for residents and their satisfaction. Many cities, including Amsterdam, Toledo, Barcelona and Venice, had been experiencing conflict between heritage and tourism.
The pandemic forced a halt to operations, which was an opportunity to offer an alternative model. It seems that the best option for the business is to be restored to pre-pandemic levels and in the same style. We briefly outline our ideas for a new model of urban tourism in this article.
It is not making any decisions to create a sustainable future model for the recovery from the crisis in tourism. It is actually trying to recover the situation from the past while giving an economic subsidy for the sector.
Sometimes, the shutdown can be used to increase capacity. Athens decided to expand the access road to its Acropolis main attraction to increase visitor capacity.
Tourist destinations tried to adapt to new regulations created by the pandemic when the most restrictive measures were lifted 2021. They also launched promotional campaigns to attract tourists. They used concepts like security, reopening, and proximity to do this. Castilla-La Mancha (Your holiday have never been more close>>), Galicia (Galicia Returns>>), and cities like Toledo (Toledo Open>>) and Zamora (Zamora vital space>>>) have all done this.
The reality is that, even in a pandemic situation, there seems to be more interest in urban cultural overtourism.
Santiago de Compostela tourist overcrowding during the covid-19 pandemic. Photographs by the author
Urban tourism has the potential to be transformed by the pandemic. It needs to undergo drastic reforms to ensure its sustainability. Overtourism must be stopped and its negative effects eliminated.
This model would allow for a reduction in visitors and an increase in quality through guided tours, tourist routes and experiential tourism.
In search of sustainability, there are some places where visitors have been limited, like Machu Picchu or La Alhambra. This is a viable solution if it is implemented in a reasonable, transparent, and fair manner.
It may be appropriate to also apply existing capacity limits to major music and sports events to heritage spaces in cities.
Sustainable tourism can be achieved by increasing the quality of the experience and decreasing the number of tourists. It would start with the limit of visitors, and then it would be about satisfying the tourists’ desire to visit the destination with minimal overcrowding. Also, with great tourism. Four ideas are needed to achieve this: guided tours and tourist routes, experiential tourism, virtual tourism, and virtual tourism.
During the pandemic, tour guides and groups were in Santiago de Compostela (1) & Alicante (2). Author’s photo.
It is necessary to apply it in urban cultural tourism. This centralizes planning and tourism management. To monitor, measure and control the impacts, policies, procedures and guidelines should be created. It is also necessary to regulate private tourism agents. It is essential to have strong political leadership, clear rules, and the support from residents and visitors.
A good governance system is essential to ensure that there is balance among all the interests involved in tourism development.
The moment of bifurcation may be an opportunity for us to address the problem of heritage city overtourism. We need to propose better future decisions and not continue making mistakes.
Cities, their residents, and managers need to rethink their vision of cultural tourism. It is also important that tourists think about what they want from their trips to heritage cities.
Let’s make a bet that cities will become less dependent on mass tourist. Residents could also reap the benefits of a less dependent on mass tourism and take back their cities. Visitors could also enjoy urban culture tourism that is more high-quality and less crowded. It could also help to improve the sector’s labor market.
This article was published in “The Conversation”.
