Over-tourism is becoming one of the biggest concerns in the tourism industry. Especially with COVID, I have found over-tourism in places locally have just got out of hand. I am from Maple Ridge, and Golden Ears Provincial Park is a 10-minute drive from my house. However, this summer there was over capacity and congestion problems. Provincial passes had to be implemented to help with the overcapacity problem, and park rangers were closing the park at noon due to being at full capacity. I have seen over-tourism ruin many different places around the world, and it is quite sad. I went to Pisa, and it was very underwhelming because of poverty and crowds. It was so busy you could barely get a photo! Over-tourism is also occurring in Venice. I was told that Venice is not worth making the trip because of over-tourism.
In the Mckinsey & Company article, they discuss alienating the residents. This can mean rising rents, noise, affecting local retail, etc. When I went to Greece, I was told that many locals would be displeased with me visiting because I was a tourist. I can see why because the small islands in Greece are way too overpopulated; however, the Greeks were friendly and did not negatively connotate us. I can see why they would be upset with tourists, especially in Santorini, because I would be upset if I lived there, but over-tourism is very hard to fix.
As a Canadian, our history as a country has always been appealing to me. This goes hand in hand with Indigenous culture. I think the indigenous culture is predominant in Canada but is not as supported and celebrated in the ways it could be. Recently I have looked into how Canada is doing in terms of Ingenious tourism compared to Australia and New Zealand. New Zeeland has adopted many symbols and embraced the culture of many Indigenous cultures, unlike Canada. Canadas brand promotes outdoor landscapes, activities, and sightseeing, while New Zealand has incorporated many different ways to advertise. One example would be using the Maori symbol on the national airline, Air New Zealand.
I believe that many countries can always improve, but New Zealand is stepping in the right direction. The policy and planning around Indigenous culture are complicated and always something to keep in mind. It may be hard to plan on protected land, and knowing the rules and regulations about this in the tourism field is very important. Courtney’s lecture was very informative, and talking about Banff’s history is something to always take into consideration.