Archinect - News2024-11-08T21:40:26-05:00https://archinect.com/news/article/150147032/overtourism-are-cities-suffocating
Overtourism: Are cities suffocating? Katherine Guimapang2019-07-19T15:01:00-04:00>2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/f8/f807076eab51c43e867de83b4c956da8.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>The global tourism boom that’s inundated legacy destinations like Venice, Amsterdam, and Barcelona has birthed a term—overtourism—to describe the harried state of a city besieged by too many visitors. A recent report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, Destination 2030, looked at cities’ readiness for tourism growth and concluded that Vancouver, [...] had “visitor volumes and activities with potential to cause strain on the city.”</p></em><br /><br /><p><a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/59326/tourism" target="_blank">Tourism</a> is one proven way cities can boost their economy in addition to promoting cultural awareness. However, how much strain is tourism putting on these cities? According to recent CityLab coverage by Molly McCluskey, "overtourism" is a term city development and tourism councils are using more frequently. Take Vancouver for example. McCluskey shares that the city will reach its 95% tourism capacity by the end of the summer. What does this mean exactly, and what steps can be taken to manage overcrowding?</p>
<p>According to Gwendal Castellan, manager of Sustainable Destination Development at Tourism <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/195/vancouver" target="_blank">Vancouver</a>, he and his colleagues think, perhaps they should "just stop promoting the city?" Castellan continues, "We've been watching this happen all over the world. We haven't hit those edges [of oversaturation] yet, but we're not far off." Cities strained from "overtourism" must not only react to visitor demand but respond to residents and local officials. From overcrowded parking lots, busy...</p>