If you’re living through this Aussie winter tapping through Instagram stories of friends holidaying overseas… this weekend’s newsletter is for you.

The European summer is well and truly underway, and if your friends aren’t in Europe, they’re probably in Japan, the U.S, or South East Asia.

But what happens when a tourist attraction attracts too many tourists? Overtourism.

Tourism can boost local economies, but it can also harm local cultures and traditions, or disrupt locals’ lives.

The seatbelt sign is on — let’s fly.

Overtourism refers to a mass number of tourists visiting a specific location, straining its resources.

It’s not a new phenomenon. For instance, Bali has been experiencing overtourism for years, due to its reputation for being a popular and cheap holiday destination. In 2023, Australians made nearly 1.4 million trips to Indonesia, and almost 90% of these trips were for a holiday, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Overtourism can negatively impact local cities or towns by diluting cultures or traditional ways of living, and can cause friction between residents and tourists.

Last year, residents of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawai’i asked the State Government to delay re-opening part of the island to tourism after fires killed over 100 people and destroyed the historic town of Lāhāina.

Over in Japan, a local council put up screens in May this year to block the view of Mount Fuji from an iconic convenience store. The Lawsons store car park had become a popular photo spot, disturbing the quiet streets of a residential area.

Earlier this month, Barcelona residents took to the streets with water guns to deter tourists.

This week, residents on the Spanish island of Mallorca held protests calling for a cap on tourist numbers. The island’s permanent population of 1.2 million faces around 18 million tourists a year.

18 million extra people on a small island is a prime example of overtourism, but there’s no painless solution, since tourism makes up 45% of the island’s GDP (gross domestic product).

The economic impact of tourism is often the main focus for governments and tourism agencies.

Tourism can boost the local economy, create jobs, and pave the way for growth and development.

University of Technology Sydney professor Larry Dwyer, who researches tourism and economics, told TDA that international tourism is “an export industry… but it's different. The money comes in, but the people go into a destination to spend the money.”

“If tourists go to those regional destinations that can add to development… it can also increase government revenues because tourists pay taxes,” Dwyer said.

However, tourism also has negative economic impacts.

Dwyer said: “People think tourism is good for an economy, but if you’re not in the tourism industry itself, you might suffer from higher prices or inflation because of the extra demand... [Locals] are seeing that their living standards are being eroded by tourism.”

Overtourism creates huge crowds at popular attractions, it drives up the cost of flights and accommodation during peak periods, and generates waste. Overtourism also means it’s almost certain that you’ll bump into other Australians when you’re at a club in Bali or a hostel in Barcelona.

But is overtourism starting to make travel destinations less desirable?

TDA asked its audience in an Instagram poll if they care about large crowds of tourists when planning a holiday. Out of around 10,000 respondents, 80% said ‘yes’.

95% of respondents said they would visit a tourist destination outside of peak travel periods in order to avoid the crowds.

Dwyer told TDA that crowd management regulations may be a better way of controlling tourist numbers, like stopping or limiting visitors to locations like “a heritage area that needs to be preserved for generations.”

That’s what the local government in Venice, Italy, have tried, with a €5 ($AU8) visitors’ tax.

Dwyer said people who can afford to travel there, however, “are reasonably affluent, otherwise… they couldn't afford the airfare.” This might be why Venice is reportedly set to double the tourist tax next summer.

What could the ideal balance of tourism, positive economic growth, and residential wellbeing look like?

Dwyer said it would involve “less tourism than exists now.”

Reducing the size of global tourism – “tourism degrowth” – would put less strain on local communities, and prioritise the wellbeing of residents. Tourism degrowth would also reduce the environmental impacts of travel, such as the carbon emissions produced from flying.

“If you downsize tourism – hopefully alongside other industries which should [also] downsize – maybe the planet won't burn up as quickly.”

Dwyer said the idea of slowing the growth of tourism can be seen as a negative for the economy as it would impact income and jobs.

However, tourism degrowth is seen as a solution to tackling overtourism by reducing overcrowding and shifting more attention towards residents’ wellbeing.

Dwyer said a slow transition would gradually see “more emphasis then on the non material benefits of life… [and] enjoying a quality of life in less crowded, less polluted environments.”

Overtourism is not a new issue, but it is a growing one. It’s a topic that will continue to come up in discussions about tourism. 

Alongside the social impacts we covered today, there are major environmental impacts of global travel. That opens up a whole new can of worms and would need to be another newsletter. Go enjoy your Saturday!

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