Overtourism is a major issue globally, causing problems such as high rent prices, crowded roads, and strained local resources. To address this issue, a combination of strategies is needed, including credit regulation, information symmetry, and more sustainable tourism habits.

"Sustainable tourism development requires a balance between tourism and urban operation, considering ecological and social factors to mitigate the negative impacts of overtourism on the environment and local communities."

Vietnam's tourism green transformation needs to focus on green planning and zero waste, as highlighted in the Vietnam Tourism: Promoting Green Transformation and Sustainable Development Forum.

The tourism sector accounts for 8.1% of the global carbon footprint, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, highlighting the need for increased efficiency and decoupling of growth from energy consumption to reduce its environmental impact.

Taiwan's proposals for outdoor resources should prioritize a cross-departmental committee and a sustainable spirit to address the lack of outdoor culture and authority.

Hong Kong's tourism industry faces challenges due to a lack of innovation and unique features, as well as decreased consumer spending.

Overtourism can cause problems such as traffic congestion, as seen in the experience of Xiao Li, who faced significantly increased travel time due to a large number of tourists.

Overtourism in European cities leads to social consequences such as rising rents and soaring property prices, which push out local tenants to make way for holiday rentals.

Overtourism is a significant challenge in Hawaii, where the tourism industry's rebound after the pandemic has raised concerns about economic and environmental impacts, including illegal vacation rentals and threats to marine life.

Overtourism leads to a decline in the quality of life for locals and causes environmental damage due to the overwhelming number of tourists in certain areas.

Overtourism is a major issue globally, causing problems such as high rent prices, crowded roads, and strained local resources. To address this issue, a combination of strategies is needed, including credit regulation, information symmetry, and more sustainable tourism habits.

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Sedona Film Festival presents ‘Crowded Out’

“Crowded Out” is a powerful short documentary exploring over-tourism, featuring interviews with local residents and global experts. (Image provided by SIFF)

Originally Published: September 14, 2022 8:43 p.m.

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the third film in its four-week Sustainable Tourism Film Series. “Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will show on Thursday, Sept. 22 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre at 4 p.m. The event will also include a selection of “Sustainable Travel: Where Next?” short films along with a panel discussion.

“Crowded Out” is a powerful short documentary exploring overtourism, featuring interviews with local residents and global experts.

Overtourism occurs when there are too many visitors to a particular destination. When rent prices push out local tenants to make way for holiday rentals, when narrow roads become jammed with tourist vehicles, when tourists cannot view landmarks because of the crowds – these are all signs of overtourism.

And it is the backlash from local residents that has made overtourism news. Cities such as Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik, and places once thought of as remote such as Iceland and Skye have suffered firsthand, and the protests by local residents have spread.

There has been decades of virtually uncontrolled growth, and it has crossed a threshold: in many destinations, tourism now demonstrably creates more problems than benefits.

This special event will also include a selection of short films from “Sustainable Travel: Where Next?” This series includes short-form documentary films, featuring insightful stories from the global travel and tourism sector showing how they are driving sustainable travel and protecting these precious destinations.

Following the screenings, there will be a panel discussion with representatives the City of Sedona, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, Keep Sedona Beautiful and the tourism and hospitality industry here.

“Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.

The final film in the Sustainable Tourism Series is:

Thursday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. “Vendemmia”

"Sustainable tourism development requires a balance between tourism and urban operation, considering ecological and social factors to mitigate the negative impacts of overtourism on the environment and local communities."

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Content: Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
The Guardian: Tourism contributes significantly to the climate crisis
It is a terrible paradox of the climate crisis that some of the most beautiful – and popular – places in the world are also the most vulnerable, especially as most of them have poor infrastructure, which means that with rising temperatures, increasing weather extremes, drying up water sources and the death of natural habitats, these places face another devastating loss, especially tourists.
Tourism contributes significantly to the climate crisis – around 8% of global emissions – and hordes of visitors cause many problems, including excessive development and degradation of natural areas.
The revenue generated by tourists can bring enormous economic benefits to these destinations, and many do not own other forms of industry or otherwise rely on extractive industries such as mining or logging.
She added that tourism can also spread awareness of environmental problems, such as bleaching coral reefs or endangered animal species, and provide funding for conservation efforts.
This complex relationship was highlighted during the coronavirus outbreak, when tourism stopped, carbon emissions dropped, wildlife flourished, and leatherback turtles in Thailand laid the largest number of eggs in two decades, but all this has come at a cost, with the global tourism industry taking a heavy toll, triggering an emergency in developing countries, families struggling to find food, illegal logging in some places has increased, and overfishing has increased.
As the rebuilding of tourism begins, it has become impossible to ignore that the future of the industry is inextricably linked to the climate crisis.
Instead of becoming a major cause of the climate crisis, tourism can be used to raise awareness, increase tourism resources and improve infrastructure.

Vietnam's tourism green transformation needs to focus on green planning and zero waste, as highlighted in the Vietnam Tourism: Promoting Green Transformation and Sustainable Development Forum.

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Content: News
Promoting the Green Transformation of Tourism to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
Vietnam Tourism: Promoting Green Transformation and Sustainable Development Forum was held in Hanoi on the morning of April 12.
This is an event within the framework of the Vietnam International Tourism Fair (VITM).
Vietnam Tourism: Promoting Green Transformation and Sustainable Development Forum was held in Hanoi on the morning of Dec. 412.
This is an event within the framework of the Vietnam International Tourism Fair (VITM).
The forum was divided into two sessions: “Green Transformation Awareness ” and“ Realizing Green Transformation Solutions for Tourism ”.
Participants discussed the green transformation of tourism, measures and responsibilities, and the participation of all parties to develop Vietnam's tourism industry into a green economy, circular economy industry, improve the status and growth of enterprises and the living standards of millions of workers.
He Van Chao, deputy director of the National Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Sports and Tourism, pointed out that the green tourism trend of green, quality and health care is becoming a priority choice for many tourists.
Green is not only a color, but also the greening process of thinking and action, and thus the administrative green culture.
In a clear recognition of this, the new tourism industry has green purposes, green products and green services.
Vietnam Tourism Association President Vu Se Binh stressed that tourism has become an important economic industry in Vietnam, and is expected to contribute more than 6.4% of GDP in 2024.
Due to the impact of climate change, the transition to sustainable development is the only way.
The green transformation of tourism brings benefits to the environment, promotes biodiversity conservation, improves the living standards of tourism practitioners, and promotes economic growth.
At the forum, Patrick Harvemann, Deputy Chief Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, said that the green transformation process of tourism in Vietnam needs to focus on four major issues: green planning, effective destination management, zero waste and low-carbon tourism, and nature-based sustainable tourism.
He also said that many places have begun the process of tourism "greening", which has been carried out for many years in the capital of Guangnan Province and Gusudao County of Guangning Province to reduce the use of single-use plastic products, reflecting a strong commitment to environmental management.
Based on the “Reducing Plastic Waste in Tourism in Vietnam ” project jointly implemented by the Vietnam Tourism Association and UNDP, it has started to promote the reduction of tourism waste and the management of plastic waste.
Participants also believe that it is necessary to achieve tourism development in the direction of green growth, while promoting technological innovation, efficient use of energy, increasing the proportion of renewable energy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
At the same time, strengthen the management of tourism destinations, improve and effectively bring into play tourism development, digital transformation policies, effectively develop development resources, and ensure the success of the greening process.
In addition, the parties concerned need to develop responsible tourism types, create jobs and share benefits with the community, implement green tourism types, promote tourism consumption and green and sustainable shopping, etc.
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The tourism sector accounts for 8.1% of the global carbon footprint, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, highlighting the need for increased efficiency and decoupling of growth from energy consumption to reduce its environmental impact.

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Content: Featured ArticlesInternational
World Travel and Tourism Summit reveals global climate footprint data for travel and tourism
Regions _ Followers
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched environmental and social research on the climate footprint of the global travel and tourism industry.
This came during the 22nd World Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council, organized by the World Travel and Tourism Council in cooperation with the Global Center for Tourism Sustainability in the capital Riyadh.
Environmental and social research covers 185 countries on all continents, the first of its kind at the international level, and will be updated annually with the latest figures, including measures that monitor the sector ’ s impact on a range of indicators, including pollutants, energy sources and water use, as well as social data, age data and gender wages in jobs related to the travel and tourism sector. Accuracy.
Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), announced in her opening speech the results of Environmental and Social Research (ESR).
One of the largest research projects, the World Travel and Tourism Council will be able to provide accurate reports and track the impact of various industry activities on the environment.
She explained that the tourism and travel sector is making great strides in decarbonization, stressing a focus in increasing the production of sustainable aviation fuel supported by government incentives, and also to greater use of renewable energy in national public electricity grids so as to promote the use of sustainable energy in hotel rooms.
The sector ’ s 8.1% share of the carbon footprint can be impacted by becoming more efficient and decoupling growth from the amount of energy consumed starting today, she said, noting that every decision and every step towards change will lead to a better and brighter future for all.
For his part, His Excellency the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Ahmed Al-Khatib, expressed his pleasure for the participation of the World Travel and Tourism Council in this important research that will follow the impact of future activities, stressing that the Kingdom recognizes that travelers and investors want policies that promote sustainability in the sector and that the Kingdom has embarked on a phase to make it a leader in the field of sustainable tourism.
“Within the framework of the Saudi Green Initiative, we launched more than 60 initiatives last year to achieve this goal, the first batch of initiatives was investments in the green economy worth more than $186 billion, ” he said.
Previous estimates have indicated that the global travel and tourism sector is responsible for up to 11% of all global emissions, however, leading research by the World Travel and Tourism Council shows that the sector ’ s total greenhouse gas emissions reached only 8.1% in 2019 globally. Thermal.
These emissions have continued to decline continuously since 2010, as a result of technological developments, as well as the introduction of a number of energy efficiency measures to activities within the sector. Between 2010 and 2019, the GDP of the tourism and travel sector grew at a rate of 4.3% annually, while its environmental impact increased by only 2.4%.
The World Travel and Tourism Council will continue to release new data on the sector ’ s performance in these indicators over the course of 2023.
Governments around the world will have a tool to guide their decision-making and more accurately accelerate the process of environmental change.
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Taiwan's proposals for outdoor resources should prioritize a cross-departmental committee and a sustainable spirit to address the lack of outdoor culture and authority.

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Content: "Climbing a Humanistic Mountain": Taiwan people lack "outdoor culture", hiking groups to lack of connotation of tourism
Photo Credit: iStock
What we want you to know is
Since the martial law began, the two parties that have taken turns in power and even the rest of the small parties do not care much about this issue, and it can even be said that they do not want to wade into the water.
Why is SpaceX planning to colonize Mars in 2020, but Taiwan still doesn ’ t have an outdoor activity authority?
Text: Dong Weiyan (City Mountain People)
A turning point in Taiwan's mountaineering culture
Our mountaineering culture has always had the characteristics of a minority. One reason is that the strictly controlled mountains after the war made it difficult for people to get close to them, and the other reason is the restrictions on transportation, equipment and information in the early years.
However, the advantage of the minority is that the members of the community are closely related and highly motivated, and everyone shares the same interests. The most important education for mountain climbing safety can be passed down in the form of teacher training, and even expand cultural and educational activities beyond this.
However, looking at the current mountaineering movement in Taiwan, mountaineering societies have declined, and hereditary education has also been cut off, resulting in most people now having no access to the stories and experiences of their predecessors, entering a huge cultural fault.
As for the new forces in place, they are self-organizing teams and commercial mountaineering service providers. The former ’ s problem is that novices often encounter difficulties in mountaineering, and the latter ’ s problem is that they are not subject to government control, and the second is that the quality is uneven.
Although it is still possible to see the number of national parks entering the park increasing year by year from the mountaineering atmosphere, but behind the prosperity, hidden is the general lack of education of the public, often turned into the unexploded bomb of mountain disasters without knowing it.
How did it all begin?
I believe that the lifting of the application system in 2001 is a watershed moment for Taiwan's mountaineering culture.
Before December 2001, because of the government's mountain management regulations, climbing mountains above 3,000 meters was an application system for a society, and must be led by someone with a "mountain guide card", so it is conceivable that there was no distinction between self-organized groups and commercial groups at that time.
However, according to the data, there have been operating societies since 1980, and such operators who travel between non-profit organizations and businesses collect money to handle procedures for customers and lead mountaineering trips without compensation.
In other words, the business behavior has always been there, but it seems to be an association from the surface.
Since then, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of the Interior have revised the law, in addition to greatly lifting the control of rural areas, and also abolishing the high mountain application system. Since then, self-organized teams and business groups have sprung up like mushrooms. The stage of transformation.
The end of the application system itself is well-intentioned, but the hereditary mountaineering education that has been running in the community system for many years has followed the end of the road, fearing that it is the evil effect that no one could have foreseen at the beginning.
Since then, the government has not cooperated with the development of the mountaineering industry and the lack of outdoor education to formulate supporting measures, laying down the long-term causes of many problems in the future, such as the frequent mountain trouble, unreasonable guide certification system, commercial chaos, and the most extreme reaction: the "mountaineering activity management autonomy Ordinance".
According to the current tourism regulations, hiking is a kind of travel service, when it is legal for a registered travel agency to undertake business, but the nature of tourism and outdoor activities are very different, do not meet the practical needs, forcing some operators to "rely on the way" with the travel agency, and the outdated regulations even occasionally become a handle for the industry to attack each other.
In the absence of a clear legal definition, I will use my personal experience to explain the method of distinguishing between teams, business groups and associations: profitability and membership.
First of all, I go hiking with my family and friends on the basis of friendship or affection. The rationality of the cost sharing can be easily achieved through agreement, and even the organizer often only charges a large amount of money (shuttle bus, food, etc.), and the rest is borne by the individual.
However, with the rise of social networking sites and communication software, there has been a wave of online solicitation of strangers to form teams, which is known as "self-organizing teams" or "cohorts" that only ask for a small number of people.
This new type of team, even if the cost is evenly divided, but it is easy because the members do not trust each other, the organizer is not well planned, individual concept differences, etc., so that the security of the team is extremely variable, once the accident, the complex responsibility attribution problem can only be solved by law.
To put it more bluntly, if the slang is “the Internet makes up the forest birds, and each flies in the event of a disaster ”, you will probably understand the problem. On the contrary, if it is a business tour, it is not important that the team members do not know each other – because the administrative, logistical, and risk management responsibilities fall on the professional guides and the team.
Fast forward to March 2020, when the international pandemic began to ravage, Taiwan was experiencing the highest wave of outdoor recreation in its history.
From the well-developed areas with convenient transportation to the mountain spots that must be reached for several days of hiking, there are reports of environmental damage of varying degrees, which not only exhausted the local authorities, but also taught the public a bloody lesson - the quality of Taiwanese people does not seem to be the most beautiful scenery.
From north to south, from the beginning of Taiwan to the end of Taiwan, a huge wave of recreational people poured into the mountain forests, affecting the natural environment and the outdated mountain forest management system.
The long-distance "tribe of God" Simakus, who used to be a challenge to drive alone, has now spread the news that there are too many one-day visitors, forcing the tribe's residents to spend the day picking up garbage.
The famous mountain spot in Taitung, Jiaming Lake, has also become popular due to the fact that there is no total control of the alternative route "Qu Maos", and the convenient food and billing services of the collaborators, resulting in a "tent city" of tourists queuing for meals near the sister pool.
Take a look at Hohuan Mountain (Creek Camp), Taiping Mountain, Tefuno, Xiacharo, Karo Lake, Songluo Lake, Jianlong Rim, Sleeping Moon Line and other places. What is the difference in the problem caused by excessive visitor volume?
National parks rely on the total amount of control and strict law enforcement, but can not prevent the people who are not prepared to choose the "one-day attack", let alone the national forest outside the park.
To be fair, this wave was an accident, with limited links to the “mountain forest release ” policy.
Under normal circumstances, the number of people engaged in outdoor activities should increase year by year, but the epidemic of 2020-21 has killed the option of traveling abroad, and the summer vacation is originally the peak season, making tourists like a tsunami to various tourist spots. Since the martial law began, the two parties that have taken turns in power and even the rest of the small parties do not care much about this issue, and it can even be said that they do not want to wade into the water.
Why is SpaceX planning to colonize Mars in 2020, but Taiwan still doesn ’ t have an outdoor activity authority?
The reason is simple, our people lack “outdoor culture. ”
Without the common values at the spiritual level, how can the system keep up with the will of the people? It is precisely because of this that our mountaineering and hiking communities are moving towards tourism that lacks the connotation; it is also because of this that the Taiwanese have only seafood culture, and no marine culture that the island people should have.
If you want to understand why Taiwan ’ s outdoor culture is so lost, you can look at the world ’ s outdoor powers. One example is the United States on the other side of the Pacific.
The United States did not have a long history, but at the end of the 19th century, it considered natural heritage as one of the important recreational resources.
Although the early colonists often went to outdoor spaces as a matter of necessity, and Puritan law discouraged such entertainment, people still had fun in work-related activities such as hunting, fishing, shooting competitions, horse racing, and so on.
In the middle of the 19th century, there was a wave of “muscular Christianity ”, combining religious teachings and physical training, which made people more willing to engage in outdoor activities.
Then, in the aftermath of the second industrial revolution at the beginning of the 20th century, with the gradual reduction of working hours, the introduction of railways, steamboats and mass production of automobiles, the Great Depression ushered in a period of high development of outdoor activities.
By the end of World War II, millions of servicemen and women had returned to their country to return to normal life, spurring a post-war baby boom and stimulating the development of outdoor activities.
Because of the quality of cars, roads, cheaper fuel, shorter working hours and other factors, low- and middle-income people are finally able to go outdoors.
Then the above factors continued to ferment, which led to a wave of outdoor activities in the United States in the 1960s.
Another factor is the early spread of romantic ideas, such as the writings of Rousseau, Byron, and Cooper, which gradually led to the recognition of the value of nature's barbarism and primitive way of life.
Later, American transcendentalists, such as Emerson, Muir, and Thoreau, who wrote The Essays on the Lake, believed that the deity existed in nature, and therefore believed that the value of wilderness was the preservation of civilization.
Influenced by this trend, the American people and government have increasingly focused on the need for outdoor recreation. The national park system was born, and even the United States Forest Service, whose main function is forestry, has not ignored the right of people to leisure and entertainment.
Compared with the United States, Taiwan did not begin to develop recreational activities in mountain areas until Japan pacified the indigenous peoples of the island in 1926.
However, because the government has never relaxed its vigilance and strict access control, the distance between mountain forests and the public is extremely remote.
After the Kuomintang government came to Taiwan, it was not easy to control the mountain area, and the same mountain control regulations were adopted, and the people had to apply through the society to enter.
It was not until 1972 that the "Hundred Yue Club" was established, and even to tie in with the development of tourism, that the restrictions on mountain areas were gradually relaxed.
It may be difficult to believe that the freedom to climb mountains above 3,000 meters will not be officially returned to the people until the abolition of the mountain guide permit system in 2001.
The policy of lifting the ban on mountain forests in 2019 is the culmination of a series of opening up measures in the past. Since then, climbers have taken responsibility for their own safety, and the government has no longer banned people from climbing mountains because of their protective mentality.
Analyzing the history of outdoor activities in Taiwan and the United States, it is not difficult to find that the United States is moving from freedom to management, but Taiwan is moving from regulation to openness; the former is led by public opinion, the latter is limited by the government, and the formation of outdoor culture is also very different.
From the beginning, the Americans saw the outdoors as a recreational area, and the public became popular very early, until modern times because the environment was unbearable, only to initiate planning and management measures; Taiwan, on the contrary, led by Japan and the national government, mountain control, severely curtailed the recreational function of mountain forests, making the relationship between the people and the natural environment increasingly distant, fueling rejection and fear.
In the early days, the ancestors of Taiwan were afraid of the indigenous peoples who had developed their customs, so that the mountains became a breeding ground for fear, supplemented by mandrill and demon god in folk legends, which still attach to the imagination of the people, and constitute a spiritual invisible obstacle.
In addition, Taiwan's mountainous terrain is generally high and deep, the hinterland is difficult to find, the climate creates dense vegetation, the weather changes rapidly, and the slope is prone to collapse, in which action has inherent difficulties.
If it is not through the appropriate human development of roads, trails, and indicator systems, it is indeed difficult for ordinary people to get close.
After the war, climbers were able to use the forest roads deep into the mountains to shorten their walk, but at that time the activity of the practitioners was only small compared to the general population.
Later, due to policy changes, many forest roads embarked on the fate of destruction, but the mature path opened by the predecessors and the rise of the mountaineering industry, became the main driving force to reduce the threshold of activities.
Especially the latter, where food, lodging, connecting, and guiding are all taken care of, today for most people, even the mountain walk is just a physical excursion.
If people want to go in groups on their own, it is far less difficult than it was in the early years because of the freedom of application, Internet information and convenient transportation.
Even if the previous generations of mountaineering have made countless achievements, it is only a minority culture within the Mountain Association and the University Mountaineering Society system. As such organizations gradually disappear, sooner or later they will withdraw from the historical stage.
People are the carrier of culture, Taiwan society lacks the historical and cultural trends that deeply affect the American people, and once the torch of inherited education is cut off, the only remaining mountaineering culture will not be able to continue.
When Yang Nan-chun, an expert in post-war academic research, wrote the preface to his second book, The Diary of Tanda, published in 1999, he bluntly stated:
In recent years, mountaineering has become a bottleneck for Taiwan ’ s mountaineering community. Of course, the five mountains and the three tips are old events, and the completion of the hundred mountains is no longer a matter of public attention.
At the same time, in order to ensure the success of the summit, everyone seems to be only interested in repeating the existing climbing routes, thus losing the backbone of the old mountain climbing era. [...] At that time, the most talked about topic was the trend of overseas mountaineering, and teams of students often shouldered the mission of academic investigation.
For example, in mountaineering activities in the Himalayas, when the climbers strive to reach the top, the team members at the base camp are also accustomed to carrying out various investigations and research on astronomy, climate, geography, plants, animals, indigenous culture, etc. [...] Once the bottleneck of mountaineering is broken, the sea and the sky will be everywhere is worth exploring.
Indeed, from his previous experience working in Taiwan and the United States, he signed up for his first mountain trip because his American peers loved outdoor activities and had access to the monthly magazine of the Sierra Club, creating an ideologically leading climber.
But why do Americans have such a strong tendency? In fact, as early as the late 19th century and early 20th century, folk hiking organizations across the United States formed a unique outdoor culture, even in the turbulent and economic collapse years still insist on going outdoors.
They believe that the meaning of hiking is twofold: to worship God and to truly regenerate people ’ s hearts, courage, and love.
I just don ’ t know if Yang Nan County saw the current plight of the University Mountaineering Society, what kind of thinking would it be?
Looking to the future, self-learning society is bound to shape a new culture.
If the government and society continue to face outdoor education with a lukewarm attitude, and do not promote the inclusion of the state education and related business systems, the future development is indeed worrying.
Now is the transitional period for shaping outdoor culture after the popularization, and it is also a good opportunity for the government to take a serious look at outdoor recreation activities and shift from regulation to proper management and advanced deployment.
The establishment of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC) by the US Congress in 1958 is a good example for Taiwan.
The primary objectives of this inter-ministerial organization include establishing the needs of the people for outdoor recreation, establishing the available recreational resources in the country, and proposing policies and plans to meet current and future needs.
It is worth noting that the goal given to the committee by the US Congress at that time was not just to propose immediate needs and improvement plans, but to assess trends and needs over the next half century (up to the year 2000).
The milestones achieved by this committee can be seen in the subsequent establishment of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 1965, the Wilderness Preservation System in 1964, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1968, and the National Trails System in 1968. Example.
The epidemic will slow down one day, but I think that even after the peak, we will only see a brief decline.
In line with the trend of international development, the demand for mountain recreation resources will only increase. Instead of watching the natural environment continue to deteriorate due to the huge recreational pressure, it is better to urge the central government to set up a similar inter-ministerial committee to review the national outdoor resources, and put forward a proposal with a sustainable spirit to ensure that Taiwan ’ s future children can still have a wonderful natural experience. Outdoor culture is a fertile land.
Book Introduction
This excerpt is from "Climbing a Humanistic Mountain: A Natural Humanities General Education Course Dedicated to All Outsiders through Ancient and Modern China, Civilization and Wilderness", Qiguang Publishing
Author: Dong Weiyan (City Mountain People)
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We consider ourselves a member of nature, and live in the "island of mountains" Taiwan.
Have you ever had a good understanding of your relationship with wilderness, nature and mountains?
From the West to the Han culture,
A journey through time and space in the relationship between human civilization and the natural environment.
This book offers reflections: What is wilderness and how does man ’ s relationship with nature evolve?
How do we view our mountains and our environment?
And try to find answers to the chaos of mountain forest activities.
The wilderness provides the air that nourishes the soul, and the mountains provide the nourishment that soothes the spirit.
Any journey into nature is a precious reboot for the people of the city.
But when you enter the mountains and wilderness of Taiwan, you will not only meet your own goals of physical training, collecting hundreds of mountains, and finding spiritual comfort.
It ’ s time to think about what we can do for the next generation. ”
Taiwan is a small mountainous island, about 70% of the land is classified as a mountain area, and the mountain density of more than 3,000 meters is amazing.
As the ambitious British mountaineer George Mallory said, "because the mountain is there," people will climb, the meaning is not so important.
Not only the mountains of Taiwan, but also the great mountains of the world. People with various purposes, dreams, and ambitions have succumbed to each other, and in the past two hundred years have composed a grand symphonic movement of mountains and people, with the first chapter of the dawn of the Alps, the second chapter of the expedition to the great mountains of the world, the third chapter of the challenge of the limit of mankind, and the fourth chapter of our present. Definitely defined, or may be called the final chapter of tourism and diverse mountaineering.
In foreign countries, wilderness philosophy, environmental protection and outdoor culture are one and the same.
If we compare the American wilderness concept with the process of the formation of the environmental movement, we will find that it can be divided into three stages: the relationship between people and nature changes, people enter the natural environment, and people start to protect the natural environment.
In this view, we have to think from the background of Taiwan's mountaineering movement and its era: why do we like to go into the wilderness of a group of climbers, but do not reflect on the relationship between people and the environment?
Under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, people from all over the world have traveled to the countryside to enjoy free air, triggering a global outdoor storm, and Taiwan is no exception.
But with the influx of people into the wild, there are many problems and chaos, and it is also a good opportunity to reflect.
We live in a mountainous island that accounts for about 70% of the island, and the density of mountains above 3,000 meters is the highest in the world, but the people do not know the mountains, waste the unique natural environment, and can not have a deeper connection with the land that nurtures the Taiwanese.
This book will use the diverse perspectives of history, philosophy, culture, social economy, and outdoor recreation activities to reposition, analyze, and interpret Taiwan ’ s unique natural environment through in-depth comparison with the West, so that we can use a new perspective to look at the past, present and future of Taiwan ’ s mountain areas.
Book Features
• This book is based on the diverse perspectives of history, philosophy, culture, social economy, and outdoor recreation. Through in-depth comparison with the West, the book redefines, analyzes and interprets Taiwan ’ s unique natural environment, allowing us to explore the past, present and future of Taiwan ’ s mountains with a new perspective.
• There are few books on outdoor culture in the Chinese world, and it is rare to comprehensively analyze the western wilderness philosophy, environmental protection, the history of international mountaineering, and social changes. In an era when everyone loves to run outdoors, this book can help you establish a framework for thinking about various outdoor issues and international connections.
• This book also provides answers to the many disturbances caused by mountain activities since the lifting of the ban on mountain forests and the outbreak of the epidemic. It covers systems, policies, and education. It is hoped that people can get close to nature and build a mature and rational mountain culture, and become outdoor citizens who cherish the environment and take responsibility for themselves.
Editor-in-Chief: Pang Bohan
Editor ： Weng Shihang
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Hong Kong's tourism industry faces challenges due to a lack of innovation and unique features, as well as decreased consumer spending.

Title:

Content: Passing the door is a guest.
Author: Jia Wenshu
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It was not easy to attract officials to the pen, but it is not difficult now.
Many Bureau Directors are likely to concurrently serve as refutation teams, and even if they do not issue an official statement, they will publicly refute it on social platforms.
No name, no basis for ordinary citizens such as the author of "Fresh Flowers".
To be fair, Yuan Miichang ’ s theory of “bad money driving good money ” is not very good.
Affordable online stores and high-end MICHELIN positioning is different, the location is different, the shop rent is different, the customer source is different, in the market will not be a competitor.
For decades, I have not heard that street fish and egg stalls will crowd out high-end restaurants, and now how online red shops can not do high-end stores, the article lacks a convincing explanation.
Secretary Yang Yunxiong described "these are fallacies", the author does not dare to confirm, but "every 1.5 million tourists bring about a 0.1% increase in Hong Kong's GDP" is not a fallacy, it is also beyond doubt.
In recent months, government officials have frequently referred to the economic contribution of “every 1.5 million visitors ”. It is said that the Government ’ s economic adviser estimated that every 1.5 million visitors would bring in $3 billion in revenue, equivalent to a contribution of 0.1% of Hong Kong ’ s 3 trillion GDP.
What if the revenue per 1.5 million visitors is less than $3 billion? Now in front of us, which is also the subject of Yuan ’ s article, it is precisely the problem of low consumption by mainland tourists and “not prosperous wealth ”.
What if every 1.5 million travelers can only bring in 2.5 billion or even 2 billion in revenue?
But this is not a warning.
Looking at the data of the Tourism Board, in 2013, mainland overnight visitors spent $8,937 per capita in Hong Kong, but overnight visitors also spent $2,721, but by 2018, the two figures had dropped to $7,029 and $2,410 respectively, and last year was even worse, leaving only $6,495 and $1,383.
Excluding price inflation, the per capita consumption of overnight and non-overnight visitors in the Mainland dropped by 42% and 59% respectively in the past decade.
How much economic benefit can you generate per 1.5 million passengers?
Ask before, ask now and ask next year, the answer will be different.
The author has no intention of belittling the consumer.
As Dr Yeoh said, the door is a guest.
However, this sentence also reminds us that those who pass through the door are not guests.
Regardless of the fact that more than 30% of the overnight visitors before the epidemic have not yet returned, it seems that mainland people are not personally unwilling to spend, but only those who come to Hong Kong do not want to spend.
Looking at the data of Japan ’ s tourism industry, the per capita consumption of mainland tourists last year was as high as 320,000 yen, which is a full 50% increase compared to before the epidemic.
Is it the Mainlanders who like to “travel in poverty ” or the Mainlanders who come to Hong Kong who like to“ travel in poverty ”? Why are the high-spending people not coming?
The author does not want to blame the travel industry, the snack or the catering industry.
In fact, they are the victims of the problem, and their hasty criticism is like sprinkling salt on the wound. Dr Yeoh also said, "It is even more groundless to say that we cannot see the Government's strategy to develop tourism".
Long before the pandemic, the authorities had announced the “Hong Kong Tourism Development Blueprint ”, which promised to develop new attractions and promote cultural and creative tourism projects with local characteristics, promote green tourism, allocate additional funds to the HKTB to enhance the publicity of Hong Kong ’ s major festivals and events, and bring tourists to experience Hong Kong ’ s authentic culture in different regions.
I don ’ t see the results of these strategies.
The annual allocation of $1.8 billion, from the epidemic to the "Symphony of Lights" lighting and music show to the monthly fireworks and drone shows, the word "grand event" has been used for 20 years, and now no one even mentions two theme parks anymore.
Are there any KPIs?
Are there any targets for per capita consumption?
Is there a target for economic gain?
Dr Yuen's claim that "the ecological balance of the Hong Kong industry has been completely broken after the epidemic" seems to be quite similar to what Dr Yeoh thinks is "a new trend in passenger travel".
The truth is that the “consumption decline ” of visitors to Hong Kong has been happening for at least a decade, with the most alarming drop in spending on shopping and meals barely surviving.
Even business travellers' spending has fallen across the board, whether from long distance, short distance or the Mainland.
These data are public, the Secretary will not be unaware.
If one more Blueprint for Tourism Development 2.0 can turn the tide, why did the first Blueprint not turn the tide seven years ago?

Overtourism can cause problems such as traffic congestion, as seen in the experience of Xiao Li, who faced significantly increased travel time due to a large number of tourists.

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Content: Security or traffic, where is the transformation path of net red spots?
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Source: New Beijing News
With the spread of social media platforms, more and more destinations are being packaged as “online red spots ” to the front of the stage, and the challenges follow.
According to the latest data disclosed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, in the seven days of the National Day holiday in 2022, the country's domestic tourism traveled 422 million person-times, achieving domestic tourism revenue of 287.21 billion yuan.
Affected by the epidemic, the travel radius of domestic tourists has been greatly shortened, and the surrounding tourism fever has continued to rise, and "digging nearby attractions" has become a hard demand for public leisure and entertainment, and has also become a new "traffic password".
The travel radius is greatly shortened, and tourists are keen to punch in the red spots.
This 11th Golden Week, photography enthusiast Xiao Li specially went to the net red scenic spots (that is, some of the characteristics of the scenic spots themselves are magnified under the role of the network, thus being sought after) to take photos.
As early as before the holiday, Xiao Li was "planted grass" by various Qikongqiao travel notes on Xiaohong Books (that is, when you see the introduction of attractions of interest, it will be included in the travel goals).
The Qikongqiao Flower Sea, located in Changping District of Beijing, has always been a popular spot in Beijing, and the continuous strips of Aster are beautiful and attract a large number of tourists every year.
Xiao Li picked a good day and asked friends to go with him.
Unexpectedly, after arriving in the field, Xiao Li found that the area of the Aster was not as large as expected, and because of the rain, the Aster flower has fallen a lot.
In addition to the large number of tourists, Xiao Li's actual experience is not as dreamy as the "planting grass" notes.
On the return trip, Xiao Li was blocked by traffic to "tired": "When I came to the road for an hour, when I went back for two and a half hours, there were really too many people on holidays." And after arriving home, Xiao Li learned from other notes that this year's Aster area is not as good as in previous years.
Like Xiao Li, in recent years, the number of tourists who are keen on online red spots is increasing, and the situation of "turning over" has also occurred.
Affected by the epidemic, the travel radius of domestic tourists has been greatly shortened, and the popularity of surrounding and intra-provincial travel has continued to rise.
According to the "China Tourism Scenic Area Development Report (2021)" released by the China Tourism Research Institute, the average travel distance of tourists during the National Day holiday fell from 213 kilometers in 2020 to 141.3 kilometers in 2021; the average recreational radius of tourist destinations shrank from 14.2 kilometers in 2020 to 13.1 kilometers in 2021.
Among them, the growth trend of tourist attractions close to the main source market is obvious, while the reception and comprehensive tourism income of natural resources and historical and cultural resources oriented to the medium and long distance tourism market are obviously declining.
The rise of neighborhood tours such as urban leisure tours and rural tours in the suburbs has made scenic spots close to daily life such as community parks, urban parks, country parks, theme parks, and ancient towns and villages increasingly become the first choice of ordinary people.
The report proposed that in the era of mass tourism, tourist attractions are the core carrier of tourism; and in the era of well-off tourism, tourist attractions may be attractions containing all life content.
“Digging around the attractions ” becomes hard demand and“ traffic password ”
In this context, "digging around the attractions" has become a hard demand for public leisure and entertainment, and has also become a new "traffic password".
Some good-looking photos and videos, combined with vivid introductions, and with the help of social media platforms such as Little Red Book and TikTok, are packed into “Internet Red ” attractions, and affect the travel decisions of a large number of users. In 2019, travel related content has become the fastest growing category of Little Red Book.
According to the "Analysis Report on the Development of China's Tourism Industry in the First Half of 2020" released by Bida Consulting, Xiaohongshu has become the most commonly used online travel decision-making platform for users with 63.7%; TikTok ranks second, accounting for 56.5%.
At the same time, the definition of net red attractions is also increasingly broad, from Xi'an, Chongqing and other cities, to Anaya, super Wen and friends and other projects, and even a strange tree in Beijing Olympic Forest Park, can become a "net red" card point.
At present, the search for "playing cards" on the small red book platform has more than 1.52 million related notes; the topic of "playing cards in online red spots" of TikTok has reached 7.66 billion plays.
Zhang Jinshan, an associate professor at Beijing United University's School of Tourism, said: "At present, many online red spots are more suitable for a kind of trendy, fashionable, niche attractions or novelties that meet netizens' pursuit and popularity, and in the short term, they quickly attract outside attention through new media platforms such as Tikyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat, and Weibo."
Under the hot tourist, the "net red effect" of the scenic spots should not be underestimated.
According to public reports, in March this year, a statue of the Shigao Zhai scenic spot in Jinan rose seven times over the weekend because it was accused of resembling the athlete Wu Dajing, and in August, the local government imposed traffic control on some roads because a female artist had previously posted photos of the sunrise in the mountains on social platforms.
In the course of operation, scenic spots are also increasingly paying attention to the "fermentation" of online word-of-mouth.
For example, not long ago, tourist Xiao Wu saw a net red park in Beijing that opened last year.
At the end of the field card is ready to leave, the park staff specifically told her, hoping that she can "Aite" the park to interact with the park after releasing photos and videos in the small red book, Weibo and TikTok.
- There's a problem.
Online red marketing industry chain: big blogger appearance fee of hundreds of thousands of yuan
The red net effect is also a double-edged sword.
In October last year, the small red book "filter attractions" related topics on the hot search, triggering a heated discussion outside.
Netizens have shared that they were attracted by the photos in the notes to go to the attractions to punch, but after they actually arrived, they found that the experience is far from the photos.
Subsequently, the small red book publicly apologized, admitted that there are some users of excessive beautification of notes, and said that it has launched a series of operational activities to encourage the small red book publisher to do useful rather than beautification sharing; when everyone searches a scenic spot, it will also provide a richer search associative words, "avoiding the pit" and other content for more display; and will try to launch scenic spot scoring list, step on the list and other products, to facilitate users to obtain more diversified information.
Red marketing has also become a mature industry chain.
According to a relevant practitioner, the brand side often through "paving", that is, find a lot of vegetarian bloggers to publish information, creating a "beautiful here", "this thing is very useful" environment.
After finding the blogger, the brand will provide cooperation precautions, shooting highlights and so on.
If it is an offline search shop, the brand will also arrange staff to cooperate.
Finally, the content published by the blogger needs to be reviewed by the brand and confirmed that there are no problems before publishing.
"The prices of these bloggers vary from person to person, especially small bloggers who have only a few thousand or 10,000 followers, send a ticket or spend a few hundred yuan, they may be willing to go."
Fans of hundreds of thousands or even millions of big bloggers, attendance fees can be hundreds of thousands of yuan, "said the practitioners.
In addition, the Beijing News shell financial reporter also found in the investigation, in order to do marketing promotion, the sale of social platform accounts is also common.
According to a person who bought and sold a platform account, the account he sold was a live powder account, and many were unreal accounts.
In the price details, the accounts of 10,000 fans are more than 3,000 yuan or less, the account price of more than 20,000 fans began to rise, and the account price of 190,000 fans is as high as 75,000 yuan.
These sellers have also launched sub-account labels such as “shop search ”,“ beauty ”, and “male blogger ”, and provide various services such as powder suggestions, drop-down, and SEO.
The undeveloped "green land" of net red belt fire, there are many security risks
The safety of the red spots also needs to be addressed urgently.
In August this year, a flash flood near Longcaogou, Longmenshan Town, Pengzhou City, Sichuan Province, caused many casualties.
In July last year, 90 donkey friends who went to Yanyang Mountain in Jiangxi Province to play in the "bull nostrils" were trapped after more than six hours of rescue and were finally transferred to a safe place.
With the spread of camping fever, the behavior of tourists visiting undeveloped and unmanaged "wild" scenic spots to experience nature has been further exacerbated, which has caused safety hazards.
Beijing Daily shell financial reporter saw in the field visit, a river in Beijing has become this year's summer small red book, the United States group and other platforms of Beijing camping hot "punch point", and this place is not developed and managed scenic spots, not only no public toilets, garbage cans and protective facilities, but also no managers and lifeguards, safety problems are difficult to ensure.
However, there are still many people camping and playing paddle board here, and many parents can also be seen on the network platform to let children play directly in the water.
In addition, the arrival of a large number of tourists has also damaged the local ecological environment, and the residual garbage has also affected the lives of local residents.
In the campsite recommendation, "niche", "no one" and "no one" are popular keywords.
Zhang Jinshan said: "net red natural has the characteristics of exploring unknown, recommended novelty, under the guidance of net red, those countryside, undeveloped, or even inaccessible scenes, areas were unearthed, driven by net red, become a popular punching place."
These areas, which were caught on fire by the Internet, were undeveloped 'green land' at the beginning, and lacked formal management, so there were many security risks.
- Solution
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a plan to strengthen the supervision of private scenic spots
In September, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a special rectification work plan for the problem of private “scenic spots ” (hereinafter referred to as the“ plan ”), announcing that the special rectification work for private “scenic spots ” will be carried out from September to November this year.
According to the plan, the target of private "scenic spots" is to provide tourists with tour services and carry out tourism business activities in certain places or regions without permission from relevant departments, mainly including unlicensed operation, disturbing the order of the tourism market, unauthorized collection of ticket fees, illegal construction of tourist facilities, destruction of the ecological environment, and unauthorized operation of high-risk tourism projects, and the existence of tourism safety hazards.
According to the plan, all localities should conduct a comprehensive investigation of the problem of private "scenic spots" in the jurisdiction according to the scope of rectification, and immediately carry out rectification and reform according to law and regulations according to the results of the investigation.
For the "wild" scenic spots that are unmanaged, developed and operated, relevant departments in various localities are also strengthening management.
For example, a "net red" abandoned mine in the suburbs of Beijing and camping along the river have been taken by the local authorities to organize security personnel to manage and persuade tourists to leave.
Before the arrival of the 11th Golden Week, the Beijing Municipal Emergency Management Bureau and the Beijing Municipal Water Bureau issued a joint initiative calling on tourists to legally and legally choose camping areas and pay close attention to camping safety.
In addition, Beijing Yanqing District also issued the "Yanqing District Tent Camping Management Guide (Trial)" for more than 10 scenic spots that are included in the industry management of the District Cultural and Tourism Bureau and have legal operating qualifications, becoming the first scenic tent camping management guide in Beijing.
Timely transformation and innovation of scenic spots, constantly follow up the new demand of tourists
In the view of the industry, the relevant situation also reflects the current soaring demand for travel and tourism products between a large gap and contradictions. "The existing formal scenic spots based on norms and safety management requirements, it is difficult to provide a site to meet the high demand for camping."
In this case, it is necessary to encourage the development of chain camping business enterprises, encourage regular scenic spots to provide sites suitable for tourists' camping needs, encourage villages and towns to develop rural camping leisure projects, increase the number of safe managed camping sites, and maximize the gap between camping needs and camping safety.
At present, the relevant tourism development in various places is also constantly following up the new tourism needs of tourists.
For example, in recent years, Hangzhou has a number of "net red mining holes" out of the circle, which have been developed by the local area and equipped with amusement facilities.
Beijing's "niche" ice waterfall scenic spot melon grassland also developed this year, and equipped with security personnel management.
In addition, more and more bloggers are also adding safety tips to their recommendations.
Under the background of the current normalization of epidemic prevention and control, scenic spots should also be transformed and developed in a timely manner.
Zhou Mingqi, founder of Jingjian Think Tank, said that cultural and tourism products adapted to the post-epidemic consumer environment are mainly divided into two categories: excellent tourism destinations and short-term, high-frequency and daily suburban products.
In the past few years, the tourism industry has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The main characteristics of the short-term vacation demand of residents of large cities with certain spending power include convenient transportation, 1-3 hours by car; characteristic accommodation, that is, hotel design combined with local style; rich content experience and parent-child interaction, and amusement projects combined with theme design. ”
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Overtourism in European cities leads to social consequences such as rising rents and soaring property prices, which push out local tenants to make way for holiday rentals.

Overtourism is a significant challenge in Hawaii, where the tourism industry's rebound after the pandemic has raised concerns about economic and environmental impacts, including illegal vacation rentals and threats to marine life.

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Hawaii faces economic and environmental challenges
As Hawaii ’ s tourism industry rebounded after it was effectively shut down during the pandemic, local politicians, communities, and business leaders revived the central issue of tourism policy discussion: How many visitors are considered too many?
Natalia Hussey-Burdick, a member of the summer state House of Representatives and vice chair of the House Committee on Tourism, has introduced a bill calling for a study of Hawaii ’ s tourist capacity.
The effort comes amid growing concerns about illegal vacation rentals, transportation, and threats to marine life and the environment. “In fact, this is a longstanding concern for all Hawaiian islands and communities. ”
However, not everyone agrees that Hawaii needs research to quantify the tourism industry. In 2019, Hawaii received 10.4 million visitors, which is considered too many, and the tourism industry in Hawaii is overloaded.
Broadly speaking, capacity is the maximum number of visitors a destination can receive without irreparable damage to the environment, infrastructure and community.
Community and environmental groups see this as critical, as do hotel executives, who argue that hosting too many visitors will harm Hawaii ’ s natural and cultural resources, as well as the “aloha spirit, ” and that tourism will be at risk if Hawaii loses those resources and tourists don ’ t want to return.
Hawaii policy makers have worked to address concerns about overtourism.
Before the pandemic, city officials tried to understand the situation of Kailua and Lanikai as tourist destinations, studying the shift from a focus on passenger capacity to a perception of tourism among residents, who were dissatisfied with the daily average of about 15,161 tourists in the two places.
Research shows that more than 65% of residents surveyed in the second half of 2019 agree or strongly agree that tourism increases traffic flow, costs of living, and disrupts the small-town atmosphere.
The same proportion of respondents believe that holiday rentals reduce the supply of housing for locals, and that government decisions on tourism generally benefit tourists rather than local people.
The report was published in June 2020 and received little attention.
At the height of the epidemic, Hawaii closed tourism, tens of thousands of hotel workers lost their jobs, and the unemployment rate was about 17%.
However, in the wake of the pandemic, Hawaii welcomed 9.2 million visitors in 2022, which has recovered to nearly 90% of 2019.
Hawaii hotel operator Jerry Gibson observed that when tourist rental growth, especially in Oahu, is the main reason for the increase in visitor numbers, up to 10 million people, the number of new hotel rooms is small, unable to supply demand, "hotel and tourist rental capacity is different."
Some people believe that the overloading of tourism is not the most important thing, but the threat to the health of the ecosystem. In 2022, the residents of the northern coast of Oahu face an environmental crisis in the Marine Life Reserve, so they are promoting projects that do not focus on tourist capacity but on the impact of tourism on the environment.
Tourism Hawaii also develops a Destination Management Action Plan for each island.
The Oahu community expects to reduce the impact by improving infrastructure and management, and limiting the number of visitors to tourist hotspots.
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Overtourism leads to a decline in the quality of life for locals and causes environmental damage due to the overwhelming number of tourists in certain areas.

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Content: Point of view
Lin Chi-yin
Lin Chi-yin: "Traveling Everywhere" and "Over-Travel"
Earlier, the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Hsia Baolong, advocated the concept of “travel everywhere ” to fully explore Hong Kong ’ s tourism resources.
To speed up the implementation of the concept, the authorities are planning to set up a "special class" to bring together people inside and outside the Government for in-depth discussions.
In recent days, officials and legislators have expressed their views on the development of "red tourism", exploring new spots in the community, beautifying the streets, and presenting some scenes in the movies.
Simply put, it may be the story behind the attraction, or the accumulated word of mouth on social media, and every tree and grass anywhere can become a tourist attraction.
Of course, the author hopes that the "class" can launch various new ideas; and since the task of the class is to implement the concept of "travel everywhere", then how to implement the concept is the best for Hong Kong, the industry, the community and the public, the class can not ignore.
The University of Hong Kong campus has been forced by tourists, and the school has implemented reservation measures this month.
HKU itself has a complete management structure, and the university can still implement crowd control according to the situation. However, if some scenic spots that go deep into the community or even close to residential buildings are really "red hot", it may not be easy to implement crowd control.
“Everywhere travel ” is a concept, the key to implementation lies in the ability of the authorities to foresee problems. If you rely only on“ see and see ”, it is very likely that good things will turn into bad things.
“Aggressive ” Travel
In 2018, the word “overtourism ” was chosen as the Oxford English Dictionary ’ s word of the year, referring to the negative effects of overloading the area, declining quality of life and environmental damage caused by the influx of tourists to tourist attractions.
For example, Venice, Italy, which has long been affected by “overtourism ”, is not a“ once in a lifetime ” – the local population is only 50,000, and the number of daily tourists has exceeded the local population; during peak season, the number of daily visitors has even doubled.
I have friends who visited the place more than a decade ago, and they all agreed to say that people are crowded and will not go again.
In addition to Venice, some European cities or small islands with a tourism-led economy (such as the Canarias in Spain) also face the problem of job opportunities, high prices, and a homogenization of shops. Multinational companies invest heavily in hotels and holiday cottages, which also lead to higher rents, which locals can ’ t afford.
Even if tourism brings a lot of jobs to the region, it does not mean that the average person can earn a living wage.
People in these places understand the importance of tourism to the local economy, but they do not want the tourism industry to be unlimited, resulting in the resources of the whole place are only for the service of tourists.
"Tourism Hazards" and How to Deal with them
In Japanese society after the epidemic, a similar term, "tourism nuisance", has also appeared to describe problems such as traffic, noise, nuisance, and garbage pollution caused by too many tourists.
This phenomenon, in addition to the popularity of exchange rates, affordable air tickets, and people's desire to travel after the epidemic, social media will also have the effect of focusing on specific hot spots.
In the era of image-led, everyone can follow the picture, some places that were not originally planned as tourist attractions have begun to face sudden overcrowding.
Hong Kong people who love to visit Japan will not be unfamiliar with two “attractions ”: the Daokou near Enojima Electric Railway ’ s Kamakura University Station, and a Lawson convenience store in Kawaguchi-cho.
The former is the "holy place" of the popular manga "When Men are in the bottle". In recent years, the crossing has been congested with traffic due to frequent visits by tourists to "punch", local people can not get on the electric train, and some tourists are dangerous for taking good photos. Lawson is also a "punch" attraction, and the picture is a convenience store with a beautiful view of Mount Fuji. of tourists are constantly crossing the road and parking without permission, causing local residents to feel troubled.
Too many tourists can also lead to a decline in the quality of service, even in Japan, which values the spirit of “work people ”.
When I visited Japan last year, I saw some shops find ways to deal with “tourism hazards ” on their own, such as not allowing diners to take photos in the store, so that after the photos are uploaded to social media, it will cause more people to come and see them; limiting the number of diners to the number of people that the staff can serve, even if the seats are not full.
However, some tourists always find it difficult to understand the intentions behind these arrangements, and I have heard some tourists complain: "Obviously there is still a place, why not let us sit?"
When these conflicts can no longer be handled by businesses and residents themselves, how to strike a balance between “tourism ” and“ public nuisance ” will gradually become a policy issue.
The most extreme way to deal with it is to “eliminate ” popular attractions – coincidentally, the authorities of Kawaguchiko recently erected a 20-meter-long and 2.5-meter-high“ black curtain ” in front of Lawson to drive away tourists who came to take photos.
The reason why the authorities have to take extreme measures is that management alone can not prevent tourists from rushing out of the road, which is actually to "play the spot".
In addition, there are more and more tourist cities and hotspots charging tourists "admission fees" or "admission fees", but this method can not play a large role.
In Venice, for example, the city has been charging a 5 euro entry fee (about HK $42) to “overnight ” travelers since last month.
However, these fees simply cannot curb the huge demand for tourists, and the revenue is mainly used as a financial source to cope with "excessive travel", which can only cure the symptoms, not the root cause.
The Real Meaning of “Travel Everywhere ”
At this point, some people may point out that the above problems will only become problems if we succeed in attracting tourists to Hong Kong; what we have to focus on is how to get more people to come to Hong Kong.
However, how much tourism can bring to a city depends on the management and policies of the city, not on the remedial measures that can be taken.
Although the share of tourism industry in Hong Kong's economy is far less than that of the "tourist city" mentioned above, Hong Kong can't wait to see that other places are looking for countermeasures for the "tourism nuisance", and even start to turn to attack, redefine the tourism industry from the planning level and actively promote tourist education.
In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for example, the government announced last month that it would ban new hotels and limit the number of cruise ships to return the city to a livable and tourism-friendly city. In Kamakura, Japan, people are no longer concentrated at certain points by decentralizing transportation (such as the launch of electric tricycle rental business) and proactively promoting multiple circumnavigation routes (such as the travel routes at 13 locations of Kamakura Shogunate).
The main disadvantage of post-event remediation is that the difficulty and cost of solving the problem are greatly increased, which will also affect the experience of tourists. More than 10 years ago, the North District of Hong Kong also experienced a pharmacy every few steps, and the situation of residents in the North District driving out water consignors on their own, which hurt the feelings of the people of the two places.
In particular, there are many policy issues that can be foreseen in advance, and we do not have to go through them personally before we know what the problem is (for example, the legal problems faced by cleaners under the garbage levy will not be known until the moment of trial).
Since there is a great deal of experience and policy measures in various places to refer to, the “Special Class ” must also strike a balance between tourism and city operations when formulating tourist routes and supporting packages, otherwise the attraction will only lead to losses. After the city of Kamakura solved the problem of overcrowding of tourists, the tourism industry representative of Kanagawa Prefecture (that is, the seat of Kamakura City) pointed out:“ Attraction is not tourism. ” The amount of time it takes to win is certainly not appropriate.
“Travel Everywhere ” is not just about adding tourist attractions, but promoting quality tourism in a more nuanced and proactive way to avoid problems.
The author is a public policy consultant.
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