SINTRA, Portugal (AP) — Martino de Almada Pimentel's doorbell is hard to find, and he loves it. It's a long rope that, when pulled, rings a letter bell on the roof that lets her know someone is outside the hillside mansion her great-grandfather built in 1914 as a monument to privacy.
This summer of « overtourism » has been invaluable to Pimentel.
Idling in traffic standing outside the sun-washed walls of the Casa do Ciprest in Sintra, travelers sometimes find the bell and pull the string because it's funny. With the windows open, he can smell car exhaust and hear the « tuk-tuk » sound of the outdoor scooters, named for the sound they make. The frustration can be felt by the 5,000 visitors a day who are forced to queue around the house as they crawl switchbacks on a single track to Pena Palace, the one-time retreat of King Ferdinand II.
« I'm more isolated now than during COVID, » the soft-spoken Pimentel, who lives alone, said during an interview on Verandah this month. « Now I'm trying to get out (not). What I'm feeling: anger. »
It's a story about what it means to be visited in 2024, when the coronavirus pandemic is expected to set global tourism records after shutting down most of life on Earth. Wandering is driven by a protracted quest for vengeance, rather than leveling. Digital nomad campaigns and called Gold VisasAccused Partly due to skyrocketing housing prices.
Anyone paying attention to this summer of « overtourism » is well aware of the growing effects around the world: traffic jams in paradise. Reports from hospitality workers living in tents. And « anti-tourist » protests have aimed to humiliate visitors while they dine — or, as in Barcelona in July, douse them with water pistols.
The demonstrations are an example of locals using the power of their numbers and social media to deliver an ultimatum to destination leaders: Get a better handle on this problem or scare off tourists — who can spend $11.1 trillion a year. Housing prices, transportation and water management are all on the checklist.
Cue the violins and you'll be clamoring for people like Pimentel who are comfortable enough to live in places worth seeing. But it's more of a problem for the rich.
« Is not being able to get an ambulance or not being able to get groceries a problem for the rich? » Another resident of Sindra, Matthew Bedell, said there is no pharmacy or grocery store in the center. Commissioned by UNESCO District. « They don't feel like rich people's problems to me. »
What is 'overtourism' anyway?
The phrase generally describes the point where visitors and their money stop benefiting residents and start harming historic sites by desecrating historic sites, building massive infrastructure, and making life more difficult for those who live there.
It's a hashtag that gives a name to the protests and hostility you've seen all summer. But look a little deeper and you'll find knotty issues for locals and their leaders, none more universal than housing prices driven by short-term rentals like Airbnb from Spain to South Africa. Some destinations promote « quality tourism, » generally defined as visitors who are residents and less drunken behavior, disruptive selfie-taking, and other questionable choices.
« Overtourism is arguably a social phenomenon, » according to a WTO analysis written by Joseph Martin Seer of the University of Western Sydney and Marina Novelli of the University of Nottingham. For example, in China and India, crowded spaces are socially acceptable, they wrote. « This suggests that cultural expectations of personal space and exclusive expectations differ. »
The summer of 2023 was defined by the chaos of travel – Airports and airlines are overflowing, A passport is a nightmare for travelers from the US. Yet by the end of the year, there were plenty of signs that the Covid-19 rush of revenge was accelerating.
In January, the United Nations Tourism Organization predicted that global tourism would exceed records set in 2019 by 2%. By the end of March, more than 285 million tourists had traveled internationally, about 20% more than in the first quarter of 2023. Europe remained Most visited place. World Travel and Tourism Council Scheduled for April Of the 185 countries it surveyed, 142 will achieve record tourism, generating $11.1 trillion worldwide and creating 330 million jobs.
Money aside, this year there is trouble in paradise, with Spain playing a central role in it all Water Management problems are skyrocketing Housing Price and drunk tourist drama.
Protests broke out all over Country In early March, graffiti in Malaga urged tourists to « f——- go home ». Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Spain Canary Islands Water services and increased house prices against visitors and construction. In Barcelona, as tourists dined al fresco on Las Ramblas, protesters booed and splashed water on people they thought were spectators.
In Japan, where tourist arrivals spurred by a weak yen were expected to hit a new record in 2024, Kyoto banned tourists from some alleyways. Established by Govt limitations On people climbing Mount Fuji. In Fujikawaguchiko, a town that offers some of the best views of the mountain's perfect cone, leaders set up a large black curtain in a parking lot to keep tourists from flocking. The tourists seem to have hit back By cutting holes in the screen at eye level.
Meanwhile, air travel, And it was miserableThe US government announced in July. UNESCO has warned of potential damage to protected areas. and Fodor's » No 2024 list ” He urged people to reconsider visiting affected hotspots, including sites in Greece and Vietnam and areas with water management problems in California, India and Thailand.
Yet hot spots have sought to capitalize on « de-touristing » drives, such as Amsterdam's « Stay Away » campaign aimed at keeping young people partying. The « Welcome to Mongolia » campaign, for example, was called from the land of Genghis Khan.. Foreign tourist arrivals to the country increased by 25% in the first seven months of 2024 compared to last year.
Tourism is growing so fast, in fact, that some experts say the term « overtourism » is outdated.
Michael O'Regan, a lecturer in tourism and events at Glasgow Caledonian University, argues that « overtourism » has become a buzzword that does not reflect the fact that the experience often depends on the success or failure of crowd management. It is true that many demonstrations are not aimed at tourists, but at leaders who allow local people who should benefit to become payers.
« There has been a backlash against the business models that modern tourism is built on and a lack of response from politicians, » he said in an interview. Tourism « came back quicker than we expected, » he allows, but tourists aren't the problem. « There's a struggle for tourists globally. We can't ignore it. … What happens when we get more tourists? Destinations need more research. »
Visitors vs Visited
Virby Magella can describe exactly what is going on in her corner of Cindra.
Guests arriving at Casa do Valle, her hillside bed and breakfast near the center of the village, call to Mahela with anguish because Sintra's « unorganized » traffic rules seem to change without notice.
« There's a pillar in the middle of the road, it goes up and down, and you can't go forward because you destroy your car. So you have to come down somehow, but you can't turn around, so you have to go back down the road, » says Magela, who has lived in Portugal for 36 years. « Then People are so frustrated that they come to our road and there is a sign that says « Authorized Vehicles Only''. They block everything.
No one disputes the idea that tourism development in Portugal requires better management. The WTTC The country's tourism sector was forecast in April to grow 24% this year over 2019, create 126,000 additional jobs and account for 20% of the national economy. House prices are already driving large numbers of people out of the property market, Driven upward partly by the influx of foreign investors and tourists seeking short-term rentals.
In response, Lisbon announced plans to halve the number of tuk-tuks allowed to ferry tourists out of the city and create more parking spaces for them after residents complained they were blocking traffic.
A 40-minute train ride to the west, Sintra's municipality has invested in more parking outside the city and in affordable youth housing near the center, the mayor's office said.
More than 3 million people visit the hills and castles of Sintra each year, long among Portugal's wealthiest regions for its cool microclimate and scenery. Sintra City Hall said via email that fewer tickets are now being sold for nearby historic sites. Pena Palace, for example, began this year to allow less than half of the 12,000 tickets sold per day in the past.
That's not enough, residents say, says QSintra, an association that challenges « residents first » with better communication. They want to know the government's plan to manage guests at the new hotel being built to increase the number of overnight stays, as well as higher limits on the number of cars and visitors allowed.
« We are not anti-tourists, » the group's statement said. « (Local leaders) are against intractable chaos. »
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Associated Press reporters Helena Alves in Lisbon and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. Larry Gellman writes about global affairs for the AP's Trends + Culture team. Follow her at http://x.com/APLaurieKellman
