Overtourism occurs when too many visitors overwhelm a destination, causing various social, environmental, and economic impacts.

The consequences of overtourism include rent prices pushing out local tenants, narrow roads becoming jammed with tourist vehicles, and tourists being unable to view landmarks due to crowds.

Decades of uncontrolled growth have led to overtourism problems in many destinations, including Barcelona, Venice, and Dubrovnik.

Overtourism also leads to environmental degradation, employee overwork, and poor living conditions, as well as disrupting local life and causing inflation in tourist areas.

In Europe, the tourism industry faces a manpower shortage with 1.2 million vacancies, and tourism revenue contributed 30.4% to the EU's economy in 2021.

Overtourism can cause economic decline, with a 35.2% decrease in tourists, and affects local social and cultural environments negatively.

Investment in the tourism industry is discouraged due to high costs, and labor shortages in hotels hinder service quality and five-star ratings.

To address overtourism, cities can adopt a "quality rather than quantity" policy, and governments can impose tourism taxes and restrictions, such as Venice's 5 euro tourist tax on peak days.

Digital tourism can also help reduce the physical presence impact on fragile ecosystems and provide alternative experiences during pandemic restrictions.

Overall, overtourism has severe consequences, including land degradation, which affects 50% of the world's population, and can lead to loss of biodiversity and climate crisis.

Overtourism occurs when too many visitors overwhelm a destination, causing various social, environmental, and economic impacts.

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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”

The consequences of overtourism include rent prices pushing out local tenants, narrow roads becoming jammed with tourist vehicles, and tourists being unable to view landmarks due to crowds.

Decades of uncontrolled growth have led to overtourism problems in many destinations, including Barcelona, Venice, and Dubrovnik.

Overtourism also leads to environmental degradation, employee overwork, and poor living conditions, as well as disrupting local life and causing inflation in tourist areas.

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Retaliatory tourism in Europe, lack of work, excessive pain training, 6 hours online
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Europe ’ s tourism industry is facing its first major peak season after the outbreak of the pandemic, but the shortage of manpower is the biggest problem, with the World Travel and Tourism Association estimating that there are 1.2 million related jobs in the 27 EU countries to be filled.
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(Central News Agency reporter Tian Xi such as Taipei, 26) The tourism industry, which has held up the hope of the European economy, is facing its first big season after the outbreak of the epidemic, but the shortage of manpower is the biggest problem.
The World Travel and Tourism Association estimates that there are 1.2 million vacancies in the 27 EU countries. Europe ’ s largest hotel chain admits that those without experience are hired within 24 hours and trained within 6 hours.
Europe ’ s tourism industry has been hit by disasters for more than two years. In addition to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) epidemic, there are two major events.
First, Brexit has made the customs clearance of both sides of the border more troublesome, for example, the US political news media Politico reported that passengers from the southern British port of Dover (Dover Port) to enter Europe by boat from France, entry checks are more than in the past several hours, British public opinion suspect that the French are inefficient, and France opposes who is to blame for leaving the EU.
On the other hand, the Russian-Ukrainian war disrupted the pace of tourism recovery in Eastern Europe, while southern Europe has been flooded with tourists since the spring, and even inflation has caused prices to rise.
Inmaculada Benito, head of tourism at the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), told the Financial Times: “The desire to travel is strong and tourists don ’ t worry much about prices. ”
The European Travel Commission pointed out that last year, when countries began to relax control of the epidemic, tourism revenue contributed to the EU ’ s overall economy rose to 30.4%, and 571,000 new jobs were created, and this year the World Travel and Tourism Association (WTTC) predicted that tourism will return to its pre-epidemic status and contribute to the EU economy to 32.9%.
However, it depends on how the labour market looks. The WTTC estimates that 1.2 million tourism-related jobs remain unfilled in the EU, including more than 20% in the aviation and accommodation sectors, posing a major risk to the recovery of Europe ’ s tourism economy.
The Financial Times reported that Europe ’ s tourism industry lost 9.3% of its workforce in 2020, and the outbreak of the new strain of Omicron in the second half of last year has slowed the demand for employment, with many moving to industries such as delivery, sharing, construction and warehousing that are less affected by the outbreak.
According to the Shengen Visa News, the pandemic has changed the minds of travel professionals, and cooking, cleaning and hosting tasks that cannot be done remotely are more likely to pose health risks.
In addition, governments ’ administrative barriers to immigration also limit the availability of human resources.
George Valsamis, the head of boutique hotels in the Greek resort of Santorini, cited another reason for the job vacancy in a Financial Times interview: overtourism, he said that the Greek island is not able to serve so many people.
In addition to the overcrowding of tourists, employees of the tourism industry often overwork, and the environment of employees' dormitories in small islands such as Mykonos and Santorini is also deteriorating, because the houses are rented out by tourists.
Accor, Europe ’ s largest hotel group with hotel chains such as Sofitel and ibis, began trying to hire inexperienced staff in late June.
“We interviewed people with no resumes and no relevant experience, and they were accepted within 24 hours, ” CEO Sebastien Bazin told Reuters.
He said students, immigrants from North Africa, were their new source of manpower, and the newcomers had to learn while doing six hours of training.
In an effort to attract talent, hotel owners have raised salaries, benefits, and vacations, such as dividends or even let employees stay directly in hotel rooms.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at a forum in June that “tourism must be attractive not only to tourists but also to employees. ”
For travelers, the result of a lack of work at the hotel is a reduction in service.
European hotel operators responded by not serving lunch, not picking up wedding or baptism dinners, stopping spa facilities, not providing shuttle buses, and reducing bar hours.
In addition, not only does the increase in oil prices make air tickets more expensive, but the lack of manpower at airports and airlines also makes flights shorter and the range longer due to factors such as connecting.
According to Hannah Free, an analyst at GlobalData, British Airways cancelled 13% of its summer flights and easyjet lost 11,000 flights during the summer holidays. The reason for both companies is that they are short of staff, but Fu believes that the airlines are not prepared to hire in advance for the post-epidemic recovery.
She also said that in the travel industry ecosystem, such as travel agencies and car rental companies, some operators have had financial difficulties during the epidemic, which has also brought about a chain effect, making the recovery of flights less than expected.
Cristina Siza Vieira, executive vice president of the Portuguese Hotel Industry Association, told the Financial Times that "the era of fast, frequent and cheap holidays is over". (Editor: Wei Shu) 1110726
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In Europe, the tourism industry faces a manpower shortage with 1.2 million vacancies, and tourism revenue contributed 30.4% to the EU's economy in 2021.

Overtourism can cause economic decline, with a 35.2% decrease in tourists, and affects local social and cultural environments negatively.

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Content: According to the statistics of the Tourism Bureau, the number of tourists visiting scenic spots last year was about 211 million, a decline of 35.2% compared with the previous year. Based on the recession, the annual domestic tourism output value of about 400 billion yuan was only about 270 billion yuan last year. "We need to put more effort into reimagining tourist attractions, adjusting tourism products, and building a new style," says Cheng.
After the outbreak of the epidemic, some of the lack of competition in the tourism industry is facing a tidal wave, and the market has a mechanism for exiting. For example, in terms of the frequency of travel and the level of consumption, it is likely that there will be further improvements, which will be positive factors for boosting domestic tourism as a whole after the epidemic.
In the case that the road ahead is still full of uncertainty, operators can still regard this crisis as an opportunity to adjust their physical fitness, modify the existing business direction model, and review the customer service needs.
For example, in Taitung, for example, Taitung has the advantage of abundant natural and ecological resources. However, due to its location on the border, the long-term transportation difficulties of railways and highways, expensive air tickets, and the inconvenience of overseas transportation, enterprises' investment in Taitung's tourism industry is mostly discouraged due to transportation costs, and the tourism development of Taitung County has been limited for a long time. The lack of uniqueness reduces the incentive for tourists to be willing to stop.
However, in recent years, Taitung has successfully turned hot air balloons, tourism related industries have flourished, and the surrounding livelihood industries have also risen along with the tide. How to create a reason for tourists to "come to Taitung" from the advantages of Taitung, Taitung has made hot air balloons a sustainable tourism industry, revitalizing Taitung's economy and creating real tourism value.
In the medium and long term, increasing the demand for experiential products is the most inevitable, in order to transform through a long time, the off-season will flourish.
In addition, by classifying consumption and travel product demand, emphasizing the experience culture and improving quality, you can increase the price and increase satisfaction.
In addition, for the medium and remote passenger flow, it is necessary to extend the number of days of travel, make differentiated and customized content, and optimize the development of exquisite travel.
Cheng Yuet-tsai also points out that "perfect itinerary planning can make tourists experience the beauty of the place", because tourism can not only be natural scenery, but also must be accompanied by tourism activities to complement each other. Not only can it bring tourists a deeper travel experience, but it can also achieve the goals of cultural inheritance, education and lifelong learning.
Zheng Yuecai also pointed out that many tourist hotels in China claim to be five-star, but many actually do not participate in the government's star rating, but in the media, advertising confusion, there is a suspicion of deceiving consumers, for the law-abiding investment of tourist hotels business is very unfair.
Due to the current shortage of labor in domestic hotels, the government should reward enterprises that have passed the five-star evaluation and introduce tourism migrant workers to help enterprises solve the manpower dilemma, which can indirectly promote five-star hotels to solve the labor manpower problem and pay attention to improving service quality to achieve a win-win situation.
However, it is worth considering that this phenomenon of "retaliatory travel" has caused the tourists to overload the load of tourist attractions, and the people not only do not get the tourism quality that they deserve, but also cause a serious impact on the local social, cultural and ecological environment. And...
Zheng Yuetai also with many years of experience in the operation of tourist resorts put forward suggestions, scenic spots next to do an important work is to attract domestic tourists, first of all to the domestic young ethnic tourists, and then the urban population, foreign long-distance passenger flow gradually back to the border.
He believes that counties and cities need to strengthen the marketing of tourist attractions, change the image of the reshaping attractions, establish a new image of health and vitality, and also re-establish the confidence of tourists to travel, and promote the government to help the outside world to establish a message of health and safety of domestic tourism.
At the same time, counties and cities affected by the epidemic will have more psychological sympathy after the recovery of the epidemic.
Zheng Yucai believes that whether the tourism industry can recover quickly at the end of the year, in addition to whether the government can put forward favorable policies, the most important thing for the industry is to "self-help". In addition to understanding customer needs, it should also establish its own brand value and establish a deep connection with customers.
When the tourism industry can grasp and properly express the fundamental values that are of great significance to consumers, it will ultimately create deep customer loyalty and create momentum for the sustainable growth of tourism.
Zheng Yucai also said that he hopes that the domestic tourism industry can turn the crisis into a turning point in the post-epidemic era and create new tourism peaks.
# Travel # Zheng Yue Cai # Businessman # Taitung # Tourists

Investment in the tourism industry is discouraged due to high costs, and labor shortages in hotels hinder service quality and five-star ratings.

To address overtourism, cities can adopt a "quality rather than quantity" policy, and governments can impose tourism taxes and restrictions, such as Venice's 5 euro tourist tax on peak days.

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Content: Global News
The world today - spraying with water guns..
Are tourist expulsions spreading in Europe?
You are now following the news of spraying with water guns.
Are tourist expulsions spreading in Europe?
From the World News section and now we leave you with the full details
SAHAD MOHAMMED - Abu Dhabi on Friday 19 July 2024 04: 25 PM - Spain's tourism unrest has reached its peak in the past few days, with some locals in Barcelona spraying tourists with water guns and canned drinks, asking them to go back to where they came from.
Angry residents, numbering about 3,000, blocked the entrances to hotels and cafes in the Barceloneta neighborhood in a symbolic attempt to express their indignation at the excessive tourist overcrowding in their city.
This is not the first time tourism has been highlighted as a problem in Spain, where the country, which attracted 85 million visitors in 2023, has seen a series of protests against excessive tourism in the country, especially in the city of Barcelona with a population of 1.6 million, which received more than 7.8 million visitors in 2023, leaving many locals unable to afford to live there due to high rental prices.
Fear of Protests in Europe
Spain ’ s overcrowding problem, and the decision to confront it by locals, has highlighted the potential for anti-tourist protests to spread to the rest of Europe ’ s heavily tourist-ridden cities, as UNESCO ’ s Sustainable Tourism Project chief Peter Debrin warned.
The protests will certainly spread if European officials fail to address the negative impact of mass tourism on the lives of the local population, DeBrin says, noting that the situation in Spain has become very volatile, as the coming of civil society and its attempt to bring about change is critical, after all elected officials must respond to what the residents of their cities want.
He cited the 2021 ban on large cruise ships in Venice, Italy, which was passed after protests by residents, as cruise ships no longer pass through the Grand Canal, but are now docked away from Venice, helping to preserve the city ’ s structural and environmental integrity.
But despite the decision to ban large cruise ships in Venice, passengers continue to flock to its narrow lanes in the thousands, with Venice expected to attract about 540,000 cruise passengers this year, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2023, according to the North Adriatic Ports Authority.
In a bid to reduce crowds, Venice has imposed a 5 euro ($5.45) tourist tax on peak days this year, a measure that has so far failed to rein in tourist numbers, Euronews reported.
Quality rather than quantity tourism
Like Venice, Barcelona residents have long struggled with the global popularity of their city: every year, fewer locals say tourism benefits the city, while more people feel it is harmful, according to a survey conducted by the Barcelona City Council in 2023.
UNESCO ’ s Sustainable Tourism Project Chief Officer Peter Debrin believes that Barcelona, which handles too many travelers, could join cities and countries that rely on a “quality over quantity ” tourism strategy – prioritizing high-spending travelers, rather than budget ones – a strategy that gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, when safety and employment concerns pushed destinations around the world to take in fewer affordable travelers. Instead of a lot of budget travelers.
Debrin said Barcelona ’ s reliance on a “quality rather than quantity ” tourism strategy helps correct another problem plaguing the city: tourists who behave badly, noting that for Barcelona residents, it ’ s not just about visitor numbers, but also how people behave, with Spaniards complaining for years about tourists drinking too much, throwing garbage and cigarettes on the streets.
Debrin called on tourists to be more aware in their travel decisions, suggesting focusing on beautiful cities with fascinating tourist and cultural attractions, which are in need of more tourists.
Civil Society Demands
Civil society groups are calling on Barcelona officials to implement a number of policies aimed at “declining tourism growth, ” such as increased tourism taxes, restrictions on cruise ships, and restrictions on short-term rental housing, just like the steps being explored in Amsterdam to crack down on buses, boutiques, new hotels and short-term rentals. In 2023, it asks some visitors, especially young British tourists, to“ stay away ” if they are travelling to the city for drugs or partying.
The most popular Spanish cities with tourists
The General Coordinator of the Association of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean States (ASCAME) Anwar Zebawi, said in an interview to the site "Economy dot Gulf", that some tourist destinations in Spain already suffer from the problem of overcrowding, and these destinations are Barcelona, Malaga, Madrid and Valencia, as these four cities attract tourists more than their capacity, and the problem is that the largest number of these tourists, come in specific months of the year. Sixty percent of all tourists who visit Barcelona each year do so during the months between July and September, creating severe congestion, while the other 40 percent is spread over the rest of the year.
Amplify for protests
Zibawi stressed that what everyone should realize, is that there is a kind of amplification of the recent protests in Barcelona,   the city has not witnessed "major" demonstrations against tourists, as the problem of the local population is never with tourists, and the people who have been sprayed with water, very few and may not exceed the fingers of one hand, pointing out that what happened was directed against those who rent houses as hotel houses. Real estate, largely, deprived the local population, especially young people, of the possibility of obtaining apartments at an appropriate rental price.
Causes of tourist overcrowding in Barcelona
Zibawi explains that one of the reasons that contribute to excessive tourist congestion in Barcelona,   is to allow tourists to stay in tourist houses and chaos in this area, the city contains about 10 thousand houses that have a license to do these works, while there are about 30 thousand hotels operating without a license and in a way contrary to the law, the offer of houses for rent at competitive prices, in addition to cheap flights available in Europe make the cost of travel to Barcelona tourist destinations. This has exacerbated the phenomenon of excessive tourism.
European cities where protests could spread
According to Zibawi, the European cities that can witness objections from the local population because of their suffering from excessive tourism, are Rome, Venice, some Italian islands, Crete in Greece, and some other Greek islands, while Amsterdam in the Netherlands, suffer from the problem of excessive tourism only, in some weeks of the year, especially at the end of the year. year.
Paris found a solution.
Zibawi pointed out that Paris had a major problem with the subject of overcrowding of tourists, and therefore prevented the work of hotel houses and raised the prices of hotels, where she saw that these steps contribute to making the cost of travel high, which prevents the tourist who does not have enough money to come, and this limits the phenomenon of overcrowding, pointing out that if the principle of quality tourism instead of quantity in Barcelona, this may solve the problem of overcrowding and contribute to the distribution of tourists in other areas. Spain.
Solutions that can be resorted to
For his part, Amer Daboussi, executive partner of Eagle Travel Travel, said in an interview with Eqtisad.al-Khaleej that cities suffering from tourist congestion can face this phenomenon by adopting a policy of "quality rather than quantity", where this policy focuses on imposing high standards of hospitality to attract rich or well-resourced tourists, and get rid of the large numbers of tourists from the middle category. h its reception, which reduces the negative effects on the local community.
Dabbousi believes that cities can also resort to the solutions of imposing tourism taxes on foreign visitors, raising hotel prices, restricting the work of hotel house rental applications by imposing financial fees on these apartments and using the revenues collected to improve infrastructure in tourist areas, in addition to the need for affected countries to market new tourist destinations within them, which contributes to attracting visitors to areas outside the main tourist centers.
Excessive damage from tourism
Cities facing the challenges of overcrowding, such as Bangkok in Thailand, Paris in France and New York in the United States, as well as some Greek and Spanish cities, must take measures to manage tourism sustainably and distribute tourism pressure in a way that preserves the quality of life of local residents and respects local culture. Eat and drink, making life more expensive for local residents.
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Are tourist expulsions spreading in Europe?
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Digital tourism can also help reduce the physical presence impact on fragile ecosystems and provide alternative experiences during pandemic restrictions.

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Content: People 's Network > > International
Open another picture of the tour (view)
Chuang Xueya
April 11, 2022 05: 33 | Source: People's Daily - People's Daily
Small number
Put on a virtual reality helmet, dive into the Great Barrier Reef in an instant, see the clear and calm ocean currents of the Pacific Ocean, colorful fish passing by; click the mouse, and stay on the European continent, stroll the garden path of Versailles in spring, or enjoy a live concert at the Digital Concert Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic.
After the outbreak of the new coronavirus epidemic, offline experience activities such as tourism, viewing and exhibitions have almost been suspended, and the global tourism industry has suffered a heavy blow.
Under the change, the new trend of tourism is gradually emerging: technology is intervening with unprecedented momentum, and digital tourism incorporating VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), MR (mixed reality) and other technologies has not only “cured ” the tourist enthusiasts trapped at home, but also opened a window for the tourism industry.
Admittedly, there are shortcomings in tourism under the "blessing" of digital technology: this is the subject of absent travel and cropped scenery.
We can see the world with the eyes of others, but what we miss is the touch of warm water flowing over the back of our feet, the smile of strangers in front of the same artwork, the moment of satisfaction at the entrance of food … No matter how fast technology develops, travel has its irreplaceable meaning: a brief farewell to daily life, to see mountains and water in strange scenes, to see others and to see themselves.
But when we look far away, another picture of tourism is slowly unfolding.
With digital technology, visitors can reach places that ordinary people can ’ t: swimming with humpback whales in Antarctica, standing in the crater to look at the magnificent scenery, looking at Angel Falls at the top of the sky one second, and swimming down the water the next — 4K displays, Dolby Panorama technology for an immersive audiovisual experience that has never been so far away.
Digital tourism has great potential to drive “accessibility. ”
In recent years, some enterprises that provide virtual tourism services have released surveys showing that online tourism is widely welcomed by the elderly, and "silver-haired" has even become a new growth point of the company's business.
Whether it is because of the high cost of travel, or because of the elderly, disabled and other inconvenient travel, digital tourism can make up for the lack of physical presence.
Digital tourism is also ecologically friendly.
Digital tourism provides a win-win solution for ecologically fragile tourist attractions or cultural heritage that needs to be protected.
The "Digital Dunhuang" project carries out comprehensive digital collection, processing and storage of Dunhuang Grottoes and related cultural relics, allowing cultural enthusiasts to visit the caves at any time and browse the huge murals in high-definition resolution.
Museums, theaters, concert halls and botanical gardens around the world have developed digital projects to turn the world into a “school without walls. ”
Digital tourism in the post-epidemic era will no longer be a “stopgap measure ”, but will become an important factor in reshaping tourism, complementing online and offline, and enriching the connotation of tourism.
People 's Daily (April 11, 2022, 18 pages)
(Editor: Yang Guangyu, Hu Yongqiu)
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Overall, overtourism has severe consequences, including land degradation, which affects 50% of the world's population, and can lead to loss of biodiversity and climate crisis.

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UN says up to 40% of world’s land now degraded

Rising damage, caused mostly by food production, puts ability to feed planet’s growing population at risk

Human damage to the planet’s land is accelerating, with up to 40% now classed as degraded, while half of the world’s people are suffering the impacts, UN data has shown.

The world’s ability to feed a growing population is being put at risk by the rising damage, most of which is caused by food production. Women in the developing world are particularly badly affected as they often lack legal titles to land and can be thrown off it if conditions are tough.

Degraded land – which has been depleted of natural resources, soil fertility, water, biodiversity, trees or native vegetation – is found all over our planet. Many people think of degraded land as arid desert, rainforests maimed by loggers or areas covered in urban sprawl, but it also includes apparently “green” areas that are intensely farmed or stripped of natural vegetation.

Growing food on degraded land becomes progressively harder as soils rapidly reach exhaustion and water resources are depleted. Degradation also contributes to the loss of plant and animal species and can exacerbate the climate crisis by reducing the Earth’s ability to absorb and store carbon.

Most of the damage by people has come from food production, but consumption of other goods such as clothes also makes a big contribution. Much of the degradation is most visible in developing countries, but the root cause of overconsumption happens in the rich world, for instance in the increasing consumption of meat, which takes far more resources than growing vegetables, and fast fashion, which is worn briefly then thrown away.

Without urgent action, degradation will spread further. By 2050, an area the size of South America will be added to the toll if current rates of harm continue, according to the Global Land Outlook 2 report.

Ibrahim Thiaw, the executive secretary of the UN convention to combat desertification, said: “Land degradation is affecting food, water, carbon and biodiversity. It is reducing GDP, affecting people’s health, reducing access to clean water and worsening drought.”

Restoring degraded land can be as simple as changing farming methods to terrace and contour farming, leaving land fallow or planting nourishing cover crops, practising rainwater harvesting and storage or regrowing trees to prevent soil erosion. Many farmers fail to take these steps owing to pressure to produce, lack of knowledge, poor local governance or lack of access to resources. Yet for every $1 spent on restoration, the UN calculates a return of between $7 and $30 in increased production and other benefits.

Thiaw called for governments and the private sector to invest $1.6tn in the next decade to restore to health about 1bn hectares of degraded land – an area about the size of the US or China. This would amount to only a small proportion of the $700bn a year spent on subsidies to agriculture and fossil fuel, but would safeguard the planet’s soils, water resources and fertility.

“Every single farmer, big and small, can practise regenerative agriculture,” he told the Guardian. “There are a panoply of techniques and you don’t need hi-tech or a PhD to use them.”

Thiaw said: “Modern agriculture has altered the face of the planet, more than any other human activity. We need to urgently rethink our global food systems, which are responsible for 80% of deforestation, 70% of freshwater use and the single greatest cause of terrestrial biodiversity loss.”

About half of the world’s annual economic output, or about $44tn a year, is being put at risk by land degradation, according to the report. But the economic benefit of restoring degraded land could amount to between $125tn and $140tn a year, which would be about 50% more than the $93tn recorded global GDP for 2021.

The Global Land Outlook 2 report, only the second such report published, has taken the UN five years to compile with 21 partner organisations and represents the most comprehensive database of knowledge of the planet’s land yet.