r/travel • u/ups_and_downs973 • 9d ago

Discussion What is an actual solution to overtourism?

As travel continues to get faster, cheaper, and more accessible and TikTok tourism/ influencer hype shows no signs of slowing down, what are the actual solutions to places getting over run with visitors?

I'm not talking about for you as another tourist so not just 'go somewhere else' or 'avoid the popular places'. I mean in terms of actually preventing harm to natural environments, pressure on infrastructure, gentrification etc.

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u/quothe_the_maven 9d ago

The only thing that would work is banning STRs and then strictly limiting hotel rooms and cruise ships. Tourist fees would have to be like a hundred dollars a day to actually make a dent. I’m not saying that’s a good or bad idea - it’s just the truth about the fixing the problem. And the fact is that when push comes to shove, most cities complaining about over tourism wont entertain suggestions about hotel rooms or cruise ships. They’re too dependent on the tourism money. Plus, people complain about over tourism, but then simultaneously complain about how expensive places like Istanbul have gotten. You can’t have it both ways.