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are you dreaming of a European holiday
floating through Venice on a gondola
marveling at the architecture in Athens
basking in the sun on the beaches of
Barcelona if you are beware Europe and
the world is overrun with tourists and
it looks like cities have had enough
they're replacing come to us incentives
with stay away restrictions tourism was
once the Golden Goose for these hotpots
but they're now tired of
it why because of over tourism you see
the pandemic was a bad time for travel
borders were shut flights were grounded
people were stuck at homes so when the
World opened up tourism boomed everyone
wanted to travel there was even a term
for it they called it Revenge travel but
2 years later countries are fed up
tourism numbers may be up but they moods
not so much over tourism has been a
problem for some time but now cities are
fighting back so what explains this
trend when does tourism become over
tourism and why should you
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care
hello and welcome to between the lines
I'm py Sharma and on this show we'll try
to read between the lines the stated and
the unstated the obvious and the hidden
to bring you the full
story imagine a Scenic location azour
Blue Waters pristine beaches Scenic
mountains you would want to visit right
well Instagram has made it easier it all
begins with a humble hashtag or a viral
dream meal a picturesk location is
discovered an influencer snaps a
breathtaking shot and that's it a On's
Hidden Gem becomes a must visit
destination all thanks to the magic of
social
media but when does this fast rising
tide become a tsunami what happens when
there are just too many tourists it's
called over tourism it's
self-explanatory too many visitors at a
particular destination in an era where
Globe trotting is as accessible as
ordering your morning coffee it is a
quiet catastrophe hidden beneath the
picturesque selfies and the thrill of
discovering new destinations according
to the world tourism organization by the
end of 2030 International tourists will
surpass 2 billion yet the sites and
places they want to see remain the same
their capacity Remains the Same they
won't magically grow in size which makes
this the perfect recipe for disaster
there's wear and tear on fragile sites
disruption for local people plus visit
visitors receive a less than ideal
experience picture this long traffic
jams endless skes rampant littering
overpriced food and no place to just
take a breath does it sound like your
ideal holiday I'm sure it
doesn't now the causes of over tourism
are many but there are three main Trends
the first is population the global
population has tripled since the 1950s
and more people are traveling reason
number two growing influence the world's
middle class is as as big as 4.2 billion
people that's a very large number a lot
of them can afford to travel and that's
what they're doing as we speak the third
is accessibility easier permissions
cheap regional carriers airbnbs and
social media all of this has fueled the
travel boom it brings in the money too
but countries are increasingly unhappy
about it over tourism is killing cities
so many governments are now imposing
restrictions first on the list is Venice
the poster child of over tourism the
city is so overwhelmed with with
tourists that canals have Bumper to
Bumper Rush our traffic Venice gets an
estimated 30 million visitors every year
its population is not even
300,000 so hosting 30 million is just
too much for the city the delicate
ventian ecosystem cannot handle it as a
result the floating city is losing its
Essence so Venice has decided to act it
will now charge tourists to enter the
city in a bit to curb overcrowding the
fee is €5 which which doesn't sound like
much when you think about it all
visitors over the age of 18 will have to
pay
it5 Venice hopes that this will deter
some day
Trippers it wants only the most
committed tourists to visit then there
is Greece it is limiting daily visitors
to the Acropolis the ancient
archaeological site attracts thousands
of people every day so much so that
there are bottlenecks outside Athens has
had enough it wants to cap daily
visitors at $2,000 now if you want to
visit you must book in advance Amsterdam
on the other hand is Banning cruise
ships it wants to control tourist influx
Italy's porino is introducing no waiting
zones basically they're saying no to
tourists brandishing selfie sticks some
parts of Spain are launching tourist
taxes but it's not just Europe that is
fed up places in Southeast Asia too are
done with tourists places like Bali it
has a new set of rules for them like
dress appropriately do not climb volcano
do not disrespect holy sides there's a
whole list and they're taking it very
seriously because over tourism is not
just about too many people it's also
about the lack of cultural sensitivity
Rowdy tourists have a knack for turning
sacred temples into impromptu yoga
studios and quaint neighborhoods into
drunken party zones for them it's not a
trip unless you've offended locals with
inappropriate behavior in India too the
situation is no different tourism in
India is a $194 billion Market it
contributes to 6.8% of the GDP it
employs more than 40 million people so
clearly it is big and important as a
sector but all of this comes at a cost
from Kashmir to kanyakumari tourist
spots are brimming with people and the
impact can be social economic as well as
environmental take the town of jimut for
example it was once a bustling tourist
spot a gateway to famous pilgrimage
sites but no one talked about the impact
this tourism had the loss and damage to
the Iman
ecosystem the vibration caused by the
vehicles the filth left behind by
Travelers and the erosion of the
sensitive Mountain ecosystem now the
small Himalayan town of jimat is sinking
its locals were forced to abandon their
homes and the land around is not safe to
live in goes to show what over tourism
can
do like I said before this is not just
about too many people the consequences
of over tourism go far beyond that
there's a threat to the environment to
the cultural heritage plus it Fosters
inequality when tourists flood into
impoverished areas they often drive up
prices making it unaffordable for local
residents this erodes the purchasing
power of locals fracturing the sense of
community in these
cities so what do we do to curb over
tourism do we just stop traveling well
travel is not wrong but we should start
with responsible travel we must choose
quality over quantity valuing the depth
of experience over the number of
destinations checked off lists also
choose sustainable tourism practices
like supporting local businesses and
respecting local
Customs it can make a significant
difference additionally governments and
local authorities have to act they must
prioritize the well-being of their
citizens over short-term Financial
gains currently over tourism is a global
crisis which means it needs Global
awareness and Global action it should be
a wakeup call for the world our planet's
Treasures are not inexhaustible and it's
time to protect what we hold
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dear
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oh
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