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Now that the understanding of overtourism has In the three years since Skift f irst def ined “I don’t think Medellin is fashionable or anything been successful in that tourism has grown, but
essentially gone mainstream around the world, overtourism, much of the global travel industry like that, but more people are looking at it,” they’ve created a prime example of the adage
a parallel trend – undertourism – is playing out has completely changed its mindset for how said Ana Maria Moreno Gomez, director of the ‘be careful what you wish for.’
in some emerging destinations that are framing it plans and manages tourism’s many aspects. Medellin Convention and Visitors Bureau. “In the
themselves as peaceful yet exciting alternatives Destinations confronting overtourism head-on, past, we put all the city’s garbage in a mountain; Kyoto residents are angered by the traffic and
to the packed streets of other cities. such as Barcelona, Venice, and Kyoto, have now we’ve transformed that area into a garden.” congestion that tourism growth has caused, and
admitted a problem, and others that don’t yet the government has responded by running an
As undertourism enters the industry’s collective have crowds are doing what they can to ensure Indeed, Medellin has embraced the green experiment that analyzes cell phone data. The
consciousness, offbeat destinations or those their cities and towns don’t become overrun. economy in the last decade as it discards its experiment is ongoing and tracks the time of
with new stories to tell are marketing immer- violent past. The city has made biodiversity day when the most cell phones are present in
sive experiences that build relationships with We’ve already seen multiple destinations activate and sustainability the face of its tourism value the destination, usually in the early- to mid-af-
people, places, culture, and community over undertourism messaging in recent years. Oslo, proposition, a ref reshing decision in a world ternoon hours. Kyoto’s Nijo Castle has already
Instagram-worthy photo ops and mass touring. for example, launched a campaign in 2017 that riddled with destination mismanagement and adjusted its opening times as a result of data that
focused on “rescuing” tourists f rom popular climate change. was gleaned from the experiment. As Japan’s
Destinations used to be satisfied with meeting cities like Paris and bringing them to Norway’s government has made tourism a key pillar of its
visitor arrivals and spending goals that they set capital where museums generally lack crowds, Gomez said Medellin is creating more offerings economic growth in recent years – it is aiming
for the year and left areas such as economic restaurant reservations are easy to get, and public outside of the city such as coffee farms so that for 40 million international arrivals by 2020 for
development and destination management to parks have plenty of free space. those attractions help prevent overtourism within the Tokyo Olympics – the tourism organization
other organizations. In recent years, overtourism the city. “The new Colombian [President Iván found that only 18.2 percent of local residents
has turned the destination marketing model Post-peace deal Colombia hasn’t wasted time Duque Márquez] talks a lot about the orange are satisfied with tourism.
on its head as many organizations realize their shaping its new image with tourists and inter- economy, which includes all of the creative
responsibility to either manage visitor growth national investors. The city of Medellin, once industries such as arts and culture,” she said. Some tour operators have been fighting overtourism
before it’s out of control or make a plan to not considered one of the world’s most dangerous for years. Intrepid Travel, for example, published
become the next Barcelona or Venice. In the short as a center for drug trafficking, has focused on Without a vibrant orange economy, tourism can’t a “not hot list” for 2019 for Asia that promotes
term, this might mean forgoing some revenue. infrastructure investment for its residents as the take root. More destinations are cultivating their itineraries for alternative destinations such as
But more destinations are acknowledging that a city enters a new chapter. The mountainous city orange economies in neighborhoods beyond “Sumatra is the new Borneo” and “Bukhara is
handful of affluent travelers are better than many constructed cable cars to help residents get from their fabled tourism districts to get tourists the new Angkor Wat.”
cash-strapped tourists, and having the right plan their homes miles above the downtown core interested, while ensuring these are long-term
increases the high spenders’ likelihood to return. to the central business district, and it’s quickly plans. “Now Medellin has a long-term tourism Global tourism arrivals hit 1.3 billion in 2017,
become one of the most successful municipal plan and each new administration can’t change according to the United Nations World Tourism
Destinations increasingly say that they’re committed turnaround stories. Now that residents from the the plan,” said Gomez. Organization, and tourism arrivals have grown for
to spreading tourism beyond congested areas to mountains can easily access the city center, they seven straight years since the official end of the
neighborhoods in need of tourism spending, or can also tap into the growing economic impact Puerto Rico is another case of undertourism in 2008 to 2009 global financial crisis. Post-financial
grow tourism during less popular seasons. But the that tourism is bringing to the city in the form practice. While parts of the island continue to crisis, many governments turned to tourism to
dispersal approach, if successful, only marginally of more employment and cultural opportunities. struggle, Puerto Rico has also made significant help reverse course on their flagging economies,
shifts the problem elsewhere rather than solving progress in recovery efforts and bringing back and that strategy helped to make tourism the
it. This approach is often taken before businesses AS UNDERTOURISM ENTERS tourism since Hurricane Maria in September largest industry in a tiny place like Iceland, which
in these neighborhoods are fully tourism-ready 2017. Tourism officials are working to portray the Skift covered in-depth in 2016.
or willing to accommodate visitors, or before the THE INDUSTRY’S COLLECTIVE island as an alternative to crowded Caribbean
off-season actually has compelling offerings that islands where U.S. travelers would likely spend Many governments, however, didn’t anticipate
could rival the high season. CONSCIOUSNESS, OFFBEAT most of their time at an all-inclusive resort rather that consumers’ discretionary spending patterns
DESTINATIONS OR THOSE WITH NEW than engaging with the local population and would trend so dramatically to intangible experi-
Muiderslot Castle, just outside of Amsterdam, businesses. Tourism officials continue to promote ences such as travel, and that’s caused political
recently rebranded itself to Amsterdam Muider- STORIES TO TELL ARE MARKETING the cruise business, but they want tourists to and tourism leaders to rethink how, when, and
slot Castle in a bid to lure tourists from the city fly in and spend a week in a hotel where more where they market tourism. Amsterdam, Barce-
center. Amsterdam’s tourism board is promoting IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES THAT BUILD tourism dollars often stay with local communities. lona, Venice, and Kyoto still contain unknown
the castle and Muiderslot’s website, which assures RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE, PLACES, treasures and unbeaten paths if you know where
tourists that the castle is easy to reach, but there Kyoto, Japan, is different f rom Oslo, Medellin, to look and when to go. The answer for these and
is limited parking and taking the train or bus CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY OVER and Puerto Rico. The Japanese city has been a other destinations is not to undersell because
involves multiple transfers. Tourists don’t want well-known stop on a Japanese tour for years, but of overtourism but to adopt smart strategies for
to worry about transportation, yet Muiderslot INSTAGRAM-WORTHY PHOTO OPS AND its profile has recently spiked as the Japan National marketing the alternatives that tourists didn’t
Castle is asking them to figure it out. Tourism Organization has launched marketing know they loved.
MASS TOURING. campaigns focused on getting travelers beyond
gateway cities like Tokyo. The campaigns have
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