Traveling across the globe is a dream many
strive to make a reality. Every person embarks on their journey with a different goal in mind: some go to explore a nation’s history and culture, some go to sample all the local foods and others go to simply relax. The latter can be deemed the stereotypical traveler, one who perhaps goes to the spa instead of venturing into the depths of a city, or stays in large resorts in place of local hotels. In this manner, tourism becomes a commercialized, albeit lucrative, industry. Savannah Bitzas (SAR ’20) experienced firsthand the striking nature of tourist traffic while abroad in Venice with a friend, and it does not appear to be a pleasant experience noted that for tourists and locals alike. “It was a beautiful city and really unusual,” she said. “We were both so surprised that it was so crowded; we literally had to wait to cross footbridges! We took a water taxi from the airport to our hotel and the driver said that 32 million people come to visit each year and that last year 60,000 locals left.”
64 | the buzz
Tourists who desire the full and authentic experience of what a country can offer are suffering at the hands of this commercialized industry as well, so much so that it becomes overwhelming. “Overall, it was a great city and I am so happy I went, but I don’t know if I would necessarily go back because it was so touristy,” said Bitzas. “We ended up going to the glass island of Murano on our main day in Venice because we were just too overwhelmed with all of the people. Murano was much less crowded and a lot more quiet.” Overpopulation during peak seasons appears to be a trend abroad amongst popular locales. Carolina Blázquez Gándara is a resident of Mallorca, a Spanish island that attracts tourists. “During the summer, the island doubles its population,” said Blázquez Gándara. “It’s very crowded and it’s not nice anymore.” While tourism is a highly sustainable industry to many countries, the fact that the majority of local people are turned off by tourist behavior and traffic speaks volumes to what tourism has become, or at least connotes.
“Of course we need them, but we kind of hate them—we don’t like tourism to be so massive,” said Blázquez Gándara. “We are very aware that we need tourists, but I would love [Mallorca] to clean the image of the island and to attract people for another kind of tourism, not just the packages of partying and alcohol,” said Blázquez Gándara. “Just something more cultural and environmentally friendly.” The impact has become so severe that several nations and cities are setting legal parameters on how many tourists are allowed in in general or to certain areas. An article in Condé Nast Traveler titled “15 Places Telling Tourists to Stay Home,” outlines 15 locations that are placing limitations on tourism. Some of those listed are Norway, which is regulating the number of hikers to certain natural spots; the Galápagos Islands, which is barring tourists from venturing to certain parts of the island after being listed as an endangered heritage site in 2007; and Venice, which is hoping to ban cruise ships from entering its harbor.
