Figure 1 Many popular tourists destinations are becoming overcrowded and are in decline.
Some destinations are popular for their balmy weather, culture-rich society and friendly locals, but due to a variety of reasons, they are seeing signs of decline in the amount of tourists they get every year. While this can actually be a good thing if you are looking for a quiet destination without a lot of crowds, it can also mean that these destinations were overcrowded in the past.
There are a few things that cause travellers to reconsider their travel decisions and these destinations are becoming less appealing to them:
4 Travel Destinations In Decline
Barcelona, Spain- Barcelona is still a very popular destination in Europe and this contributes to the over-tourism issue. No amount of rerouting of public transportation and pavement expansions can solve various tourism-related congestions. Some of most-visited places in Barcelona, like Parc Guell and Sagrada Familia, have no more space to expand. Instead of staying in hotels, tourists prefer to choose short-term rentals and this has caused skyrocketing rents for local Barcelona residents. Mass tourism is the primary reason for the decline in quality of life in many areas of Barcelona.
Isle of Skye, Scotland- the Island’s Big Five tourism locations – Neist Point, Quiraing, The Fairy Pools, Fairy Glenn and Old Man of Storr are plagued by congestion on narrow, single-track roads. Some tourists reportedly dismantled the old walls in Fairy Glenn to make rock stacks for social media purposes. These problems have discouraged travellers from visiting the Isle of Skye.
Big Sur, California- once an idyllic location, Big Sur is being besieged by nearly 6 million visitors each year. Numbering less than 2,000 people, locals are clearly fed-up and overwhelmed. The lack of sufficient bins and bathrooms has caused significant littering. Illegal camping also causes human waste problems and damaging wildfires.
Venice, Italy- Venice is already known for its over-tourism and the government has been struggling to clean up litter left by millions of tourists. With the annual visitation of 30 million tourists, the 53,000 residents are feeling the negative impacts of excessive tourisms. In fact, many are already leaving as they can’t afford to live within Venice anymore. Many spots in Venice, such as Rialto Bridge, are constantly congested with tourists, causing disruptions to local residents. Verona and Trieste are alternative cities in Italy that are known for noteworthy architecture and canals.
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