Global tourism is a booming industry. But in a growing number of places around the world, the surge in tourism is too much of a good thing.
Venice has been depopulated as year-round residents have fled its historic canals – where they’re now vastly outnumbered by tourists. In the Philippines, the once pristine beaches of the country’s famed Boracay Island were closed for months recently to allow them to recover from the effects of 6 million annual visitors.
In Amsterdam, the crowds are so bad the Dutch tourism board has stopped promoting the city all together – and now encourages people to visit elsewhere.
On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at the spread of this problem – and how tourism sites around the world are trying to adapt.
Joining the program:
- Elizabeth Becker, journalist and author
- Lisa Covert, professor of Latin American history, College of Charleston
- Frank Carlson, producer and photographer, PBS NewsHour
- Claudia Ribeiro de Almeida, professor of tourism studies, University of Algarve
Assistant producers: Laura Miserez, Arianna Suardi
Supervising producer: Trevor Hook
Visual editor: Kyle McCubbin