Touristology: A solution to Overtourism!

Overtourism has become an important/interesting word. Some people describe it as a problem…. I prefer to describe as an opportunity to improve the way we try to manage our beloved sector.

The other day, I enjoyed reading this article about the topic “How cities can fix Tourism hell”. After reading it I share with my Touristologists this Tweet

Can reactive policies like limitations and taxes be effective? Of course!

Can technology help us to manage better Tourism? Of course!

Here you can see this interesting video

Here  you can remember the actions of Amsterdam…

BUT the important idea is to manage tourism giving support to the Tourist from the beginning to the end of the trip! Let’s embrace XXI century Tourism Management!

XX century Tourism Management:

1) I want that someone bring THEIR Tourists to my Tourism Destination/Enterprise. I will be successful if I get a high number of Tourists!...even if they appear at the same time at the same place.

2) “Tourism is travel for pleasure” 

We have to update old-fashioned definitions of Tourism and get back to our origins… the Grand Tour (travel to learn) Marco Polo (travel to make business) Charles Darwin (travel to get a bunch on creativity)… Otherwise, it will be impossible to avoid the bad impacts of our beloved sector and maximize all its opportunities.

XXI century Tourism Management: 

My enterprises will seduce Tourists (in a broad sense) from around the world AND We will send them around the world! I will be successful if my enterprises get most of the revenues of the trip AND a decent profit. If my people get a fair salary. If I avoid massification, gentrification!

Can you combine XX century Tourism management with XXI one? Of course! As a matter of fact, I strongly believe/recommend that you do so in order, to maximize the PROS of Tourism (Profits for your enterprises, Good salaries and great careers for your people, international contact and new perspectives for your inhabitants, a way to get revenues to take care of your cultural heritage…) and minimize the CONS (OverTourism, Massificaction, Local inhabitants unhappy with the Tourists, Gentrification…).

BUT the important question is… Can you combine the two typologies of Tourism Management if you don’t know how to apply one of them???