{"id":19200,"date":"2017-06-25T22:14:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-25T21:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/?p=19200"},"modified":"2017-06-26T10:29:15","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T09:29:15","slug":"how-to-stop-city-breaks-killing-our-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/06\/how-to-stop-city-breaks-killing-our-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"How to stop city breaks killing our cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/p>\n

C<\/span>an\u2019t wait to pack your bags and head off on holiday again? It used to be that people would look forward to a long break in summer, but now tourists have got\u00a0used to regular short breaks<\/a>\u00a0through the year. We love to jet off to the world\u2019s glittering cities, even if only for a day or two. The trouble is, binge travelling may be killing the places we visit.<\/p>\n

You may even have seen some \u201ctourists go home\u201d graffiti on your last trip, and it\u2019s not hard to see why. Barcelona is a good example of how a city can groan under the weight of its popularity. It now has the\u00a0busiest cruise port<\/a>, and the\u00a0second fastest growing airport<\/a>\u00a0in Europe. Walking through the Barcelona streets at peak season (which now never seems to end) flings you into a relentless stream of tourists. They fill the city\u2019s hot spots in search of \u201cauthentic\u201d tapas and sangria, and a bit of culture under the sun. The mayor has echoed residents\u2019 concerns over the impact of tourism; a\u00a0strategic plan<\/a>\u00a0has been put in place.<\/p>\n

It is true though, that cities tend to start managing the impact of tourism only when it is already too late. It creeps up on them. Unlike visitors to purpose-built beach destinations and national parks, city-break tourists use the same infrastructure as the locals: existing systems start slowly to stretch at the seams. Business travellers, stag parties and museum visitors will all use existing leisure facilities.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Barcelona may only be the\u00a059th largest city<\/a>\u00a0in the world, but it is the\u00a012th most popular<\/a>\u00a0with international visitors. Compared to London or Paris, it is small, and tourism has spiked sharply since the\u00a01992 Olympics<\/a>\u00a0rather than grown steadily as in other European favourites like Rome.<\/p>\n

Growth is relentless. The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) even speaks about tourism as\u00a0a right for all citizens<\/a>, and citizens are increasingly exercising that right: from 1 billion international travellers today, we will grow to 1.8 billion by 2030, according to\u00a0UNWTO forecasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Faced with this gathering storm, just who is tourism supposed to benefit? Travellers, cities, residents or the tourism industry?<\/p>\n

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Market forces<\/h2>\n

Managing the impact of tourism starts by changing the way destinations market themselves: once the tourists arrive, it\u2019s too late. Tourism authorities\u00a0need to understand<\/a>\u00a0that they are accountable to the city, not to the tourism industry. When the city of Barcelona\u00a0commissioned the University of Surrey<\/a>\u00a0to look into how it might best promote sustainable development, we found a series of techniques which have been incorporated, at least in part, into the city\u2019s\u00a02020 Tourism Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the simplest terms, the trick is to cajole tourists into city breaks which are far less of a burden on the urban infrastructure. In other words, normalising the consumption of sustainable tourism products and services. In\u00a0Copenhagen<\/a>, 70% of the hotels are certified as sustainable and the municipal authority demands sustainability from its suppliers.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Destinations must also be accountable for the transport impact of their visitors. The marketing department might prefer a Japanese tourist to Barcelona because on average they will spend \u20ac40 more than a French tourist \u2013 according to unpublished data from the Barcelona Tourist Board \u2013 but the carbon footprint we collectively pay for is not taken into account.<\/p>\n

Crucially, for the kind of city breaks we might enjoy in Barcelona, most of the carbon footprint from your holiday is\u00a0from your transport<\/a>. Short breaks therefore, pollute more per night and so destinations ought to be fighting tooth and nail to get you to stay longer. It seems like a win for tourists too: a few extra days in the Spanish sun, a more relaxing break, and all accompanied by the warm glow of self-satisfaction and a gold star for sustainability.<\/p>\n

Destinations can also target customers that behave the most like locals. Japanese first-time visitors to Barcelona will crowd the Sagrada Familia cathedral, while most French tourists are repeat visitors that will spread out to lesser-known parts of the city. Reducing seasonality by emphasising activities that can be done in winter or at less crowded times, and geographically spreading tourism by improving less popular areas and communicating their particular charms can also help reduce pressure on hot spots, much like\u00a0Amsterdam is doing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Turnover is vanity, and profit margins are sanity. No city should smugly crow about the sheer volume of visitors through its gates. If tourism is here to stay, then the least cities can do is to sell products that will have the greatest benefit for society. Whether it\u2019s Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna\u00a0or Bognor<\/a>, there should be a focus on locally and ethically produced products and services which residents are proud to sell. Tourist boards should work with small businesses that offer creative and original things to do and places to stay, adding breadth to the city\u2019s offering.<\/p>\n

Whether Barcelona will introduce these ideas will depend on the bravery of politicians and buy-in from the powerful businesses which are happily making short-term profits at the expense of residents and the planet. It is possible to do things differently, and for everyone to benefit more. It may be that the tipping point lies in the age-old mechanics of supply and demand: bear that in mind next time you\u2019re booking a quick city break that looks like it\u2019s only adding to the problem.<\/p>\n

This article was first published by The Conversation<\/em>. Read the original article here: How to stop city breaks killing our cities.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It used to be that people would look forward to a long break in summer, but now tourists have got\u00a0used to regular short breaks\u00a0through the year. We love to jet off to the world\u2019s glittering cities, even if only for a day or two. The trouble is, binge travelling may be killing the places we visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":19201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,534],"tags":[1364,1960,853,1984,1702],"yoast_head":"\nHow to stop city breaks killing our cities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It used to be that people would look forward to a long break in summer, but now tourists have got\u00a0used to regular short breaks\u00a0through the year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/06\/how-to-stop-city-breaks-killing-our-cities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to stop city breaks killing our cities\" 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