by Stephen Popoff
Local residents of popular tourist destinations throughout the world are getting fed up with mass tourism affecting the quality of life in these popular destinations. Anybody who has traveled in the last couple of years post pandemic has witnessed the phenomenon. Popular tourist spots that have always attracted crowds now attract so many people that the quality of the experience for the visitor and the local residents is drastically diminished.
In Portugal, there are two hour lines to take the famous Tram 28 to the Alfama forcing locals to walk to where they need to go. In Barcelona, Spain locals are shooting tourists with water pistols while yelling “Tourists go Home” complaining about housing shortages. In Kyoto, hundreds of Chinese tour groups march through the sacred sights while their guide speaks loudly through a bullhorn destroying the ambiance of the beautiful locale.
Tourism brings money to local economies but at what price. It’s clearly a double-edged sword as over tourism negatively affects the quality of life for the locals as well as visitors. As a local San Franciscan, I’ve seen this with my own eyes and I sometimes too want to take a water pistol out and start shooting visitors.
So what’s the solution? Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney, believes he has the answer and is approaching governments around the world to allow Disney to manage crowds at tourist sites around the globe for a fee. For example, in Kyoto, Japan Disney has proposed to the local government a pricing structure called a “Temple Hopper Pass”. It would cost more but it allows one to bypass the long lines at places like Kiyomizu Temple and Kinkakuji.
“You gotta make it more expensive so the riff-raff just gives up,” said a company spokesperson.
“We have the resources and manpower to manage all the great tourist sites of the world. I guarantee within a few months locals will notice a profound improvement in the quality of their lives and visitors willing to fork out money for a Temple Hopper Pass in Japan, a Cathedral Hopper Pass in Spain or Portugal, or the Jesus Fast Track Pass in Israel will have a richer experience.”
Not all world citizens are happy with letting an American company profit from managing their tourist sites.
“Et après? La CNBPF va-t-elle être gérée par Dunkin Donuts,” asked Frenchman Louis Dubois.
“É apenas mais uma maneira de os ricos roubarem dos pobres,” complained Brazilian president Lula da Silva.
“彼らは地元のヤクザとうまく付き合う方法を学ばなければならないだろう。彼らがどこまでできるか見てみよう,” warned Kyoto mayor Takatoshi Nishiwaki.
Disney promises to keep a low profile and reminds us that the American corporations usually know best.
Just remember, it’s a small world after all.