The road overtraveled
Valencia combats the tide of overtourism By Ericka Rivera
F
or many, the chance to travel to Europe and immerse themselves in a culture so much older and different from their own is a once in a lifetime opportunity—with visits to humanity’s most iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, and the Acropolis topping most travelers’ bucket lists. But after years of saving and months of careful planning, travelers embark on their whirlwind tour of Europe only to discover while wrestling through herds of camera-clicking tourists that half the planet also had the same idea. “When I went to Paris, the Louvre museum was so crowded that I didn’t even try to wade through the crowds of tourists to see the Mona Lisa,” says Melissa Kindma, an editing, writing, and media student who studied at FSU Valencia in summer 2019. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, international travel has become a lopsided picture, with European countries receiving the brunt of in-
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ternational arrivals. Travel has become cheaper, more appealing, and more convenient than ever, spurring a travel boom that has left European countries struggling to keep head above water under the waves of tourists. In 2016, Spain alone received 76 million foreign visitors—30 million more than the county’s total population— with the majority of tourists swarming the already populous cities of Madrid and Barcelona. While far removed from Barcelona-levels of overcrowding, FSU International Programs’s hometown of Valencia is also feeling the effects of overtourism, which has led to some resentment from local residents and discussions about how to regulate the effects of tourism boosters such as Airbnb. While overtourism’s impact has been increasing since the mid-2000s, the term was not widely used until 2015. Overtourism occurs when tourists flood a destination in such large numbers that it strains resources to the point it becomes unsustainable for the affected city or region.
Local residents feel most of the negative impact. Cities’ infrastructures become overloaded, causing crowding in the streets and sidewalks, overfull buses and metros, and long lines at public restrooms. “Tourism puts a strain on resources in terms of accommodating people,” says Dr. Joe Calhoun, who taught economics at FSU Valencia in summer 2019. “When you put more than a million people into a physical location that is used to only a million, it’s is going to put a strain on existing resources.” The natural environment and cultural treasures are also threatened by pollution, overuse, disrespectful visitors, or neglect from the host city’s overextended financial or human resources. Apartment buildings become hostels as Airbnbs flood residencies with a revolving door of noisy tourists, destroying any sense of community for people who like to know their neighbors. Moreover, the cost of living begins to soar as real estate speculation results in high taxes and raised housing prices. Corporate interest and establishment of chain stores threaten not only local mom-and-pops but the city’s very cultural identity as it undergoes “Disneyfication,” morphing into pseudo-travel resorts to become more appealing to traveling consumers. Even the quality of the tourist experience begins to suffer as people are forced to wait in long lines, stumble
