World Economic Forum: How are popular destinations around the world coping with overtourism?

• Japan blocked a viewing point on Mount Fuji, while Copenhagen offered free food to tourists who picked up trash or took other environmental actions.
• As more and more regions seek to control visitor numbers to avoid overtourism, they must balance this goal with the economic reality that tourism makes a significant contribution to GDP.
• The World Economic Forum's Tourism Development Index points out that the sustainability and resilience of the tourism industry must be strengthened in the future.

According to CNN, Copenhagen recently launched a clever solution to overtourism by encouraging tourists to get involved. If tourists pick up trash during their visit (or participate in other environmental actions), they can get free food and special cultural experiences.

In addition to this pilot project, various places have introduced a series of measures to combat overtourism, such as Venice charging tourists to enter the city and Japan blocking the viewing point of Mount Fuji. These efforts show that popular tourist cities must not only attract the required tourism business, but also control the impact of tourism on local residents, historical sites, air pollution and the natural environment.

Amsterdam bans new hotel construction to combat overtourism. Image: Statista

More and more cities and regions are seeking to control the number of tourists. This goal must be balanced with the economic reality that tourism accounts for about 10% of global GDP . The World Travel & Tourism Council says the tourism industry will create 27 million new jobs in 2023.

As tourism continues to recover, policymakers are looking for more sustainable ways to grow the industry and are making tourists bear part of the cost through ecotourism taxes.

How to control the number of tourists in different places

Pushing for a ban: Amsterdam recently joined Venice in considering banning cruise ships from the city center in an effort to curb the number of tourists. The plan has been approved by the city council but has not yet been implemented.

Behavioral rewards: Copenhagen takes a slightly different approach, offering free food or cultural experiences to tourists who make positive contributions to the environment , such as picking up trash or taking public transportation, according to CNN.

The system was so successful that the local government decided to continue it for the next four years.

Blocking the view: Japanese officials have erected a barrier to block a popular viewing spot at Mount Fuji as a result of the influx of tourists. While tourism has boosted economic growth, residents near the viewing spot say many tourists keen to take photos are ignoring local rules on littering and parking.

Other popular tourist destinations in Japan, such as the city of Osaka and the hot spring resort town of Hakone, are considering imposing new tourist taxes to control the number of visitors.

Balancing act: ecotourism tax

Some regions have imposed general tourism taxes for decades for a variety of reasons, such as to raise funds for infrastructure facilities.

The specific ecotourism tax is different, with funds earmarked for reinvestment in sustainable development projects. Christopher Khoo of tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services told Eco-Business that the ecotourism tax can make tourists aware of their impact on the environment.

As Topaz Smith, Head of Aviation, Travel and Tourism Community at the World Economic Forum, said: “Ecotourism taxes play a key role in helping to raise funds to finance sustainable infrastructure development, support conservation efforts, promote environmental education, train hotel staff, and empower local communities to manage and benefit from tourism.”

“A robust framework needs to be put in place to accurately reflect how the funds raised by such taxes contribute to the protection of jobs and local livelihoods. Otherwise, the trickle-down effect may be questionable,” he told Eco-Business.

Author of this article:

Gabi Thesing, Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

Ian Shine, Senior Writer, Forum Programme

David Elliott, Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

This article was originally published on the World Economic Forum’s Agenda blog. Please indicate the source and include a link to this article when reprinting.

Translation: Di Chenjing