Travel Congestion a Growing Concern in the World’s Top Destinations

The travel industry is booming with the global sector growing at 3.9 percent, as reported by the World Travel Tourism Council. This figure accounts for $8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs contributed to the world economy, and for eight years in a row was above the growth rate of the world GDP. That may be good news for the travel sector and destinations with little economic stability outside of tourism, but is also becoming a crisis. Travel is more popular than ever now that the middle class is going global, the airlines are competing for fares and stories of people quitting their jobs to travel the world are the norm.

Some of the world’s most popular places are struggling to balance the demands of tourism while protecting themselves from overcrowding. With less than 1 million residents, Amsterdam swells to some 20 million visitors a year and fill areas tourists once never dared to go like the Red Light District. Locals complain they can’t get through their day-to-day with all the crowds, and media reports boorish behavior by tourists even in cultural centers. To help balance the influx of tourism, Amsterdam is cracking down on Airbnb rentals and banning new tourist shops from the city center.

Overcrowding is also changing the experience of experiencing a destination. Gone are the days when you could take a quiet walk along Venice’s canals. Today’s Venice experience includes long waits at every attraction, congested canals, scarce accommodations and concerns over its slowly sinking city rising. An estimated 32,000 cruise ship passengers disembark in Venice daily April to October and add to the chaos of the millions of visitors already infiltrating the area. There are also reports of cruise ships damaging Venetian canals and colliding with other vessels, with the city struggling to keep up.

Even ambitious destinations that require steadfast determination and physical prowess are seeing overcrowded conditions. Instead of waiting until Maccu Picchu hit tourist crisis mode, Peru’s Ministry of Culture issued new rules to protect the Inca site by outlining entry periods, how long visitors can stay and where you can walk. Other areas aren’t fairing as well. Reports of a conga line of mountaineers waiting to approach the summit of Mount Everest made news in a region where waiting too long in high altitude can lead to imminent death.

Tourists can help with overcrowding, or avoid it for a more enjoyable vacation, in a few key ways. Whenever possible, choose off-season travel or stay open-minded to less-traveled destinations that may satisfy your wanderlust. Follow the rules, don’t push people out of the way to pose for selfies, patronize local businesses and consider staying outside of the main tourist zones. And, above all else, remember the lessons your mother taught you: Always be a gracious guest.