Tourism: Conflicts of a trillion-dollar business
Billions of people went on vacation in 2023, as global tourism was almost hitting pre-pandemic levels. While $1.5 trillion are being poured into the industry every year, popular destinations are close to collapsing.
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00:00What problems are rising tourist numbers causing?
00:04In the record year of 2019, there were around 1.5 billion international tourists, nearly
00:0920% of the world's population.
00:12This surge is evident in places like Cancun in Mexico and Mallorca in Spain, where locals
00:17are fed up of garbage, noise and soaring rents.
00:21We're taking a look at the booming tourism industry and its consequences.
00:28Let's start with the figures.
00:29As tourist numbers rise, so do revenues for the global tourism industry.
00:34Revenues hit an all-time high of almost 1.5 trillion US dollars in 2023.
00:39The only major dip was during the pandemic.
00:43Tourist arrivals fell by more than 70%, leading to a massive loss of employment in the sector.
00:49In 2020 alone, more than 60 million people worldwide lost their jobs.
00:56Since the pandemic and the world reopening, people have rediscovered their wanderlust.
01:02This is Julia Simpson.
01:04She represents around 200 companies from the travel and tourism industry.
01:08We're also going to be looking at our sector is going to be growing at double the rate
01:14of general GDP.
01:16That does vary a lot by region around the world.
01:20But averaged out, we are actually going to be growing as a sector faster than the general
01:25global economy.
01:26Here's where most tourists went in 2023.
01:29100 million to France, 85 million to Spain, followed by the USA, Italy, Turkey and Mexico
01:37with 42 million.
01:40Let's start with Cancun on the Mexican Caribbean coast.
01:43It has around 900,000 residents, but received 10 times that number of tourists by plane
01:49last year, more than any other destination in Mexico.
01:53Most of these tourists came from the USA, Canada and Colombia.
01:59There's a range of options to suit all budgets.
02:04Mexico is a very, very strong market and it is expected to grow.
02:09It's going to break all records.
02:11There are going to be record numbers of visitors and record numbers of income that's going
02:17to be generated and jobs.
02:19In 2023, tourism accounted for around 14.4% of Mexico's GDP.
02:25By 2034, that's expected to jump to around 15.8%.
02:31But what's the downside?
02:33Let's take a look at Spain, whose economic growth is just as dependent on tourism as
02:37Mexico's.
02:39But locals on the popular vacation island of Mallorca are fed up with mass tourism.
02:50Thousands are now taking to the streets.
02:54Around 14.5 million visitors went to the Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, in 2023.
03:00That's 12 times the local population.
03:03The majority of these visitors were from Germany, Britain and France.
03:19According to media reports, property prices on the Balearic Islands have tripled over
03:30the past decade.
03:32The locals are being pushed out and are complaining about garbage and noise pollution.
03:37Other tourist hotspots such as Barcelona and Venice have similar problems.
03:41The Lagoon City of Venice had almost 5 million visitors in 2023, with only around 50,000
03:47locals still living in the old town.
03:49A fee has now been introduced for day visitors, but whether it will relieve the burden on
03:53residents is unclear.
03:55Kyoto in Japan is also experiencing over-tourism, but we'll come back to that later.
04:01Back in Mexico, we've made our way to Tulum, a popular holiday spot about two hours drive
04:06from Cancun.
04:08According to the latest figures from 2020, the town has around 47,000 residents, which
04:13is an increase of over 65% over the last 10 years.
04:19Carla Acevedo has seen first-hand the problems this has caused, especially with trash.
04:24The town has set up a waste separation system, but a lot of the garbage still ends up in
04:28the environment, and the waste collection isn't working as it should.
04:49For Carla, it's clear that the town has grown too quickly.
04:57Besides the trash problems, there's also a big issue with wastewater disposal.
05:01Meanwhile, hotels in Tulum are promoting themselves as sustainable.
05:05What does she make of that?
05:20We reached out to a hotel that claims to value sustainability.
05:25Tonatiuh Mesa shows us how and where the hotel sorts its waste, which is then picked up by
05:29companies for recycling.
05:31The hotel also has its own sewage treatment plant to clean wastewater, and the water quality
05:36is checked regularly.
05:38Plus, they generate 20% of their electricity from renewable sources.
05:43The hotel belongs to the Nomad People Group, headquartered in Buenos Aires, and it doesn't
05:47come cheap, at around $300 to $1,200 per night.
06:17Has this hotel struck a chord with modern tourists?
06:27According to Booking.com, 80% of travelers say sustainable travel is important to them.
06:32The platform surveyed 33,000 travelers from 35 countries and regions.
06:37But what exactly is sustainable tourism?
06:41Sustainable tourism development means that tourism must be developed in a way that creates
06:47social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits.
06:52Monica Qian researches sustainable tourism.
06:55What are the important criteria?
06:57So tourism should generate benefits and revenues for the local communities.
07:04It should help preserve the culture and heritage of the local communities and generate aware
07:09cross-cultural understanding and awareness, but at the same time doing so without damaging
07:16the environment.
07:17But how much do the locals actually benefit from tourism?
07:21All-inclusive resorts are booming in Mexico.
07:24They offer great value for money.
07:26And cruises are a big business too.
07:28Foreign operators like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival are raking in the most cash.
07:46Andrés Aguilar tells us that the state tourism law has already been reformed.
07:57It's supposed to focus on social development and better spatial planning, also for newly
08:02developed tourist areas.
08:06But what about places like Tulum and Cancun?
08:17Lida Peralta has collaborated on a new UN study on sustainable tourism.
08:36So what role do vacationers play in all this, especially those who want a sustainable vacation?
08:41Remember, 80% said it was important to them.
08:46Unfortunately, tourists do not always behave responsibly when they go on holiday.
08:51And that is for several reasons.
08:53Number one, the temporary distance of tourists from their daily routines, responsibilities
08:58and restrictions trigger situational disinhibition.
09:03If tourists are told, do not do this, do not go there, chances are such an instruction
09:10will create what we call a boomerang effect.
09:13They may start to act in a way that challenges established norms or acceptable behaviours,
09:19just like a four-year-old kid.
09:21But things can change when politics gets involved.
09:25I have a few examples to share with you.
09:28Maya Bay, which is in Thailand, it is home to the stunning beach made famous by Leonardo
09:35DiCaprio's film The Beach.
09:38It had been very popular for years and mass tourism had actually devastated the ecosystem
09:46around the bay.
09:48Thousands of tourists were visiting the national park every day and destroying the coral reefs.
09:55In 2018, the government closed the bay for four years.
10:00And even after Maya Bay reopened, tourists, the number of tourists that can be allowed
10:07in that area is also limited.
10:11As we mentioned earlier, Kyoto in Japan has also been heavily impacted by over-tourism.
10:15Kyoto, for example, tourists visiting the geisha districts, they touch the geishas'
10:25clothes, they tear off their kimonos, they take their photos and stop their ways, etc.
10:32So the city actually banned the tourist buses and instead they provide tourist-only express
10:39buses on the weekends to some of the major tourist attractions.
10:46But let's shift our focus back to Latin America.
10:49Costa Rica has been certifying hotels and tour operators for sustainable tourism since
10:541997.
10:55La Fortuna, located inland in the heart of the rainforest, attracts 150,000 tourists
11:02annually.
11:03They come seeking a different kind of vacation, like ecotourism.
11:11Juan Sostheim has specialised in this.
11:13He explains to us that this hotel can provide for the 120 residents itself by embracing
11:19the principles of a circular economy.
11:21A room costs around $200 a night.
11:25What does Juan think of Costa Rica's image?
11:49Costa Rica's economy relies heavily on tourism.
11:52There are about 56,000 accommodation options available in the country, roughly half of
11:57which are state-certified.
11:58But it's still tricky to gauge how sustainable a vacation in Costa Rica really is.
12:19So where is tourism heading?
12:24We've seen that the sector revenues are clearly on the rise, but there aren't many
12:28comparative figures for more sustainable tourism.
12:32While some initiatives and policy decisions are moving in the right direction, we at least
12:36couldn't find a strong trend towards a truly sustainable sector or business.
12:41What do you think?
12:42Can the tourism sector become genuinely sustainable?
12:45We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
12:49Thanks for watching.
12:50See you next time.
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