In recent days, the Thai beach of Maya Bay has been accessible again. Made famous by the movie
The Beach
with Leonardo DiCaprio, it had been a victim of its success to the point of being closed in 2018. After three years, the sharks returned, the coral reefs grew back and the water became clear again. deciding the Tourism Authority to reopen. But on two conditions: the maximum number of visitors is 375 and swimming is prohibited. Closer to home, in Cantabria, to reach the Praia das Catedrais, where you can venture out at low tide into caves worthy of the movie
The Goonies
by Steven Spielberg, it is already necessary to present, at Easter and during the summer, an authorization - free - previously completed.
These same conditions apply in France from this month of February for those wishing to access the sublime cove of Sugiton.
They will only be 500 to 600 lucky people elected per day, or five times less than during the peaks observed last summer.
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These examples are far from isolated cases. If it turns out to be impossible to quantify the restrictions imposed on tourists, it is certain that the phenomenon is growing. And this under the combined effect of the health crisis, with the establishment of gauges and the desire to combat the undesirable effects of mass tourism. They are by no means limited to fragile natural places, but also concern cities. The restrictions taken by public and private organizations to limit the number of tourists or change their habits are of different kinds.
They can be pecuniary, such as the increase in parking prices or the introduction of a chargeable shuttle, or specific to a group or to a behavior - Venice has thus established a disembarkation tax for visitors coming by cruise ships, moreover. banned since August from docking in the city center.
The restrictions can also consist of a time limit - four hours maximum in Machu Picchu or thirty days on Easter Island.
Finally, they also translate more and more into quotas, easier to monitor by requiring prior reservation.
A maximum number of nights in Amsterdam
Among the most radical municipalities is Amsterdam, which wants, according to its words, a "mass detouristification". After a petition from overwhelmed citizens, the city council set in July 2021 a maximum number of twenty million overnight stays by tourists per year, but also a minimum of ten million. If travelers continue to flock or, conversely, if they desert the city - at the moment, cultural venues and shops are closed due to the lockdown - the municipality, which considers itself the first in the world to do so, must react. At the beginning of December, it announced a measure, less known than those it already applied (increase the tourist tax, restrict Airbnb rentals, etc.): the city will help locals buy souvenir shops,coffee-shops and restaurants dedicated to tourists
"In order to transform them into affordable rental housing or useful stores for residents." "
In other towns, residents did not wait and began to flee the center. According to a study by the Lisbon City Council, the number of voters fell by 15% in just five years, between 2013 and 2018, the period during which the number of tourists increased the most.
"Tourism requires more than any other policy a global and long-term vision",
supports Didier Arino, consultant of the firm Protourisme. Refuting the term “overtourism” and noting that
“we must not forget that Venice was first saved by tourists”
, the consultant urges his clients to define precisely what type of tourism they wish to promote. This ambition must then be translated into actions, but in different areas.
“There is no point in opposing tourists and locals, who also visit their region.
Hence the importance of also taking into account housing and mobility issues, for example, ”
adds Didier Arino.
Or the consequences on the local hospital system, in the event of a wave of contaminations, or even on sanitary facilities.
Thus, on the Basque coast, last summer, several beaches had to be closed due to the presence of red algae, linked in particular to an insufficient capacity of wastewater treatment plants during the summer season.
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The Basque region is one of the French destinations that are beginning to translate the maxim of “less but better” into action.
“We no longer have any ambition to increase the number of visitors in the summer. We want to better manage flows by offering to get off the beaten track thanks to alternatives to the beach and to the most famous sites that can be discovered in any season ”
, according to Daniel Olçomendy, vice-president of the agglomeration (158 municipalities and nearly 300,000 inhabitants) in charge of sustainable tourism.
The agglomeration, which is working on its new tourism roadmap, has already released guides and set up mediators last summer.
Their mission: to explain to travelers how to better respect busy places and guide them to less crowded summits and hiking trails.
The number of sites accessible by reservation is also increasing in the region.
This is the case with the Sare caves, the third most visited place, which
"favor reservations"
and even made it compulsory, no later than D-1, during the fall.
More comfort for visitors and destinations
The most acceptable constraint, if we place ourselves on the visitor side, still seems to be that of reservation. That the destinations do not take a dim view either.
“I would even say, it's a bad for a very good. We have decided to maintain the reservation put in place in 2020 due to the imposed gauges. A little against all expectations, despite the health pass, the gloomy weather, but above all a number of people by lower cable car, the number of visitors has increased ”
, testifies a spokesperson for the Pic du Midi. The summit accessible from Mongie welcomed 61,331 visitors in search of fresh air in July and August, almost 1% more compared to 2020, an already exceptional year (+ 13%).
“Reservations help streamline cable car traffic, as the vast majority of visitors now reserve and arrive in advance. In addition, this system makes it possible to avoid the queue and to better distribute the flows over the day, which improves the comfort of visitors, ”
explains the spokesperson. The establishment of the reservation for the Pic du Midi, engaged in a vast program of multiplication of activities for as many times of visit (during the four seasons and even at night) required a reorganization of teams and investments, which very few providers of leisure activities, in France and around the world, have yet done so.
While access to the Eiffel Tower or the La Rochelle Aquarium can be planned online, the vast majority of structures offering kayaking, horseback riding or even paragliding outings are small and few have a merchant website. .
"Transport and hotels have long been reserved, activities are the last link in the chain"
, points Timothée de Roux, president of Alentour.
This leisure activity distribution and reservation platform was launched in September, as part of the tourism recovery plan, and was launched by the Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts group) in partnership with Amadeus and Dawex.
Alentour is not aimed at the general public, unlike Airbnb which offers activities managed by individuals, but accommodation structures - 860 to date - and tourist offices.
This will make it easier for them to recommend nearby leisure activities to their customers (more than 4,000 activities, for the moment mainly on the Côte d'Azur, in Savoie and Haute-Savoie).
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Equestrian centers and other surf schools should gain in visibility, comfort, and even in turnover. Indirectly, the platform should improve the experience of holidaymakers, who are no longer obliged to go there to book, at the risk of finding themselves stuck in the water or being forced to pay, in advance and , often in cash.
“France is the number one tourist destination in the world and has between 120,000 and 150,000 activity suppliers. However, it is estimated that only 5% of the business volume comes from digital reservations. This rate is comparable in other countries, with the notable exception of the United States, but this market is dominated by large structures ”,
compares the former boss of HomeAway.
Finally, Alentour should also make it possible to decongest popular destinations: if the Matisse Museum in Nice, for example, no longer has tickets available, the hotelier can warn his customers and recommend other places.
However, these few trees - overcrowded - should not hide the forest warns Didier Arino:
“Let us remember that 90% of the territory in France is under-visited 90% of the time.
There
are still so many places to discover.
