I agree with Barcelona's Deputy Mayor. From the perspective of a tourism destination, sustainability (in every sense) hinges on limiting access. All top locales know this and a few have the leadership to act on it - they will win the most affluent and discerning travelers, inspiring other places to follow their lead. What happens to the "mass traveler" who loses his or her access to the world's treasures as a result? In the rosiest scenario, regional destinations would take note of the market's hunger for beauty, atmosphere, and narrative, and invest in making local places deeply compelling. More likely, the middle class will seethe with envy at yet another treat which the rich have always enjoyed, but only recently made truly visible through social media.
This is very thoughtful and smart! I totally agree the best case scenario would be more demand for a wider range of places, and more concentration on local / regional spots. It's an opportunity for more development, in a way. Like UK regional tourism in the mid-century.
One of the most frequent conversations I have about the US is related to its aesthetic poverty. Maybe because it's still such a young country, the "good ideas" in social landscapes have not had as much time to outlive and overshadow the bad. So people would rather go to Europe. I wonder if economic development types have had much success in quantifying the financial value of beauty to real estate and tourism investors.
Destinations are desperate for people to visit in the shoulder and off seasons, but with climate change, summer is absolutely no guarantee of weather we want/can cope with (too hot/too cold/rainy). But of course it's more expensive in the summer too...
The thing is.. why are we all traveling in the summer, anyway? It's a busy time of year because it's summer holiday for school-aged kids and, I guess, teachers and academics. But why are the rest of us defaulting to summer as travel season? Do we love being hot in foreign places that much? Context collapse has happened everywhere else, I think it will come for the whole concept of "tourist season" within a few years, too. Whether that will solve the problem...
I agree with Barcelona's Deputy Mayor. From the perspective of a tourism destination, sustainability (in every sense) hinges on limiting access. All top locales know this and a few have the leadership to act on it - they will win the most affluent and discerning travelers, inspiring other places to follow their lead. What happens to the "mass traveler" who loses his or her access to the world's treasures as a result? In the rosiest scenario, regional destinations would take note of the market's hunger for beauty, atmosphere, and narrative, and invest in making local places deeply compelling. More likely, the middle class will seethe with envy at yet another treat which the rich have always enjoyed, but only recently made truly visible through social media.
This is very thoughtful and smart! I totally agree the best case scenario would be more demand for a wider range of places, and more concentration on local / regional spots. It's an opportunity for more development, in a way. Like UK regional tourism in the mid-century.
One of the most frequent conversations I have about the US is related to its aesthetic poverty. Maybe because it's still such a young country, the "good ideas" in social landscapes have not had as much time to outlive and overshadow the bad. So people would rather go to Europe. I wonder if economic development types have had much success in quantifying the financial value of beauty to real estate and tourism investors.
Erm... any tips for the Dolomites in September then...;)
honestly I could use them also!
Destinations are desperate for people to visit in the shoulder and off seasons, but with climate change, summer is absolutely no guarantee of weather we want/can cope with (too hot/too cold/rainy). But of course it's more expensive in the summer too...
The thing is.. why are we all traveling in the summer, anyway? It's a busy time of year because it's summer holiday for school-aged kids and, I guess, teachers and academics. But why are the rest of us defaulting to summer as travel season? Do we love being hot in foreign places that much? Context collapse has happened everywhere else, I think it will come for the whole concept of "tourist season" within a few years, too. Whether that will solve the problem...