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The tourist tide

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The end of summer season brings one of the largest and strangest migrations in this restlessly migrating world. The tide of tourism ebbs, and millions of tourists come home from all over the planet.

Tourism is said to be the world's biggest industry, with a turnover in the trillions of dollars. It seems that we all want to be somewhere else. Worldwide, six hundred million people travel abroad every year. It's unfortunate that we all choose to go to the same places at the same time. This phenomenon has gained a new name this season – overtourism. Images have appeared in newspapers and on TV showing tourists pushing their way through the crowds on Barcelona’s La Rambla, elbowing their way across the Rialto Bridge in Venice, and narrowly avoiding being shoved into the canals by crowds of exhuberant youths in Amsterdam. Some small Greek islands are almost sinking under the weight of tourists unloaded there by huge cruise ships and, almost unbelievably, we see pictures of people lining up to climb Everest like customers waiting for service at the DMV.

Certain destinations are like celebrities – the fame is in the name. Paris is a mega-celebrity. Parisians will never get rid of tourists, no matter how hard they try or how rude they are. Amsterdam is a magnet because of its drugs and what is euphemistically called its night life, and the Greek islands have been featured in too many movies.

There may be no way, short of another pandemic, to solve the problem of overtourism – if it is a problem and not just a snobbish distaste for crowds. Travel is good. It works against our natural tendency to be parochial and nationalistic. It is also one of our basic freedoms, and we shouldn’t restrict in any way. Only totalitarian governments prevent their citizens from travelling. Why shouldn’t half the world go and take selfies at the Eiffel Tower, if it makes them happy.

Perhaps overtourism will solve itself. All invasions inspire resistance. Residents in popular places have become irritated, and even hostile. In Barcelona, Amsterdam and the Greek Island of Santorini locals have rebelled against the overwhelming mass of visitors, and in Venice they have simply given up and moved away. If the Yeti or abominable snowman ever did live in the Himalayas, he’s probably moved out too because of the overcrowding.

I’ve been a tourist myself, of course, I’ve joined the crowds in all those places (except the Himalayas), and lived in regions that were major tourist destinations, so I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end. But the whole scale of tourism has changed, and we must learn to travel differently, more expansively. It's not fair that so few places get all the visitors, all the money, and all the aggravation. Serious travelers should leave the crowds behind, and head for places that are not on any top destinations list - faraway places with strange sounding names, incomprehensible languages, turbulent politics, and challenging cuisines. It may be tough, but it will be an adventure. Send me a postcard.

David began as a print journalist in London and taught at a British university for almost 20 years. He joined WSHU as a weekly commentator in 1992, becoming host of Sunday Matinee in 1996.