QUALITY IN TOURISM | WHEN AN INSPECTOR CALLS
WHEN AN INSPECTOR CALLS
The dawn of the internet, falling airfares and low-cost carriers, improved Destination promotion, and
awareness on a worldwide stage, mean the issue of ‘overtourism’ is coming increasingly to the fore.
DEBORAH HEATHER, Director of M-Assessment Services discusses the issues that accommodation
providers may face and how to overcome them
W
ith news of resident protests in necessary course of action, telling of the all contribute to the creation of honeypot
Barcelona and Venice over the failure of other management strategies in sites that are a must-see for international
number of tourists, the concept recent years. and domestic visitors alike. There are two
of overtourism is increasingly pertinent.
The defined purpose of sustainable
key considerations for tourism sustainability
Many residents the world over are raising tourism is to maintain the economic and for businesses; the first is your own
concerns for the protection of special sites, social advantages of inbound tourism, while sustainability and the second is your place
complaining against sky-high housing mitigating the negative impacts on the and role in your local tourism strategy.
prices as visitors seek second homes, environment and the visitor and resident and expressing fears over rising levels experience. Aside from capping visitor of your area, it is unrealistic to suggest
of pollution, as millions of visitors flock to numbers, which is seen as a last resort for that you have a significant impact on the
popular sites each year. It is an issue which many, emerging strategies include widening tourism sustainability of the area. Your
is consistently downplayed, but one which the profile of the destination, or capping the establishment will have limited rooms, and
the tourism industry must get to grips with, sharing economy of homes. Amsterdam is those rooms can be sold a maximum of 365
with sustai