I don’t know if ‘sustainable’ and ‘tourism’ are two words that go together. That advertising campaign is very nice but I don’t know if it will resonate with most of the visitors and foreign residents that are looking for the beach and the sun here in Spain
I totally disagree that it is an ALL OR NOTHING situation. There is nothing unethical about tourism. What is unethical is the massive overtourism machine that has taken over so much of the world, destroying the very places they are promoting.
Mérida and Cáceres are brilliant for people who love Roman remains. I found them stunning. Plenty of tourists but not overwhelmed with them. Extremadura is notorious for heat but in October it’s very bearable even for Celtic-skinned wimps like me.
Yess Cáceres is beautiful! I loved the architecture there and the archaeological museum with the stelae (and the well). Mérida is on my list, I hope to make it there this year 🤞
Can vouch for Cangas de Onis near Picos de Europa NP. Though the local bus system up to and around Covadonga seemed a little opaque and rough around the edges for us foreigners to easily figure out, even with fluent Spanish speakers. But all the more satisfying when we got there!
Sorry it's taken me so long to respond to this post. There is a lot of great stuff to digest and ponder. First of all, I'm sorry for me but glad for you that you've moved to the UK. That makes a meeting slightly more complicated and less immediate but I hope that if you come to Madrid with a bit of time to spare that we can meet in person.
I appreciated your article about tourism. Spain's environment, tranquility, residents, and communities are certainly suffering from massive tourism and something needs to be done instead of shooting people with water pistols. Though at least they're not real ones.
You provided some appealing options that I've noted. Since a significant part of the country's economy depends on tourism, I hope the goverment follows through on its a strategy “Sustainable Tourism of Spain 2030,” based on three pillars of sustainability: socio-economic, environmental and territorial. It’s changing the fun-in-the-sun focus to promoting sustainable growth. To remain competitive in the industry, it’s moving from volume of tourists to value for them by prioritizing ecological and social integrity.
I hope all of us can do our part to see this through.
Well…we've had the mass-tourist economy, the tourist economy,then the traveller economy, then the visitor economy. I would say we're at point of a mash up of all three tested and failed tourist economy models and the traveller economy model. Suggest we shift to a guest economy, i.e. visitors only visit countries to which they have been invited. Over the past 22 years, apart from a single long weekend trip to Lanzarote in February 2020, immediately before the pandemic was officially declared in Spain, my partner and I have only visited countries to which we were invited by friends and family. By way of being invited we've visited the U.S. four times, Italy three times, Nicaragua (a solo trip for me), Sweden (a solo trip for my partner), innumerable visits to various parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and France a few times. And, by force of work commitments etc we've had to turn down invites to visit Turkey, Greece (Crete) and South Africa. And, just last week, we were invited to visit Lisboa in September. We’ve both always wanted to visit Lisboa together — I've never been, but my partner visited Lisboa donkey's years ago before we met.
A fully functioning Guest economy could work if it embraced civic associations, neighbourhood groups, trade unions, professional associations, sports groups, business oriented groups, etc etc etc. I am genuinely surprised that no European cities and regions have yet tested the Guest Economy model, which, at its core, would extend only an agreed number of invitations to visit as the place, be it city, town or region thinks it can comfortably accommodate. That's my dos centimos worth anyway. Salut!
I think it’s a lovely idea, if quite a paradigm shift from where we are at the moment. I suppose my thoughts go go people who don’t have existing networks they can tap into for this sort of thing. What do you think of the concept of home exchange or house sitting platforms? To me, they’re much more in line with the original ethos of Airbnb than the current platform is - people opening up their homes and the whole system operating through mutual trust and responsibility.
Hi Amy, thanks for picking up on my comment and taking the time to write such a considered response.
As far as the big cities in Europe go, e.g. Barcelona, Paris, Madrid etc. I’m not so sure that is such a huge paradigm shift. All these cities have had years to fine tune and develop their tourist/visitor services and all keep to the minute databases on availability of hotel, hostel, hostal beds, and other accommodations, including air b’n’bs etc. They also maintain and monitor active databases on events and features which attract visitors. I’m thinking here of trade, science and medical conferences as much as arts festivals and popular folk culture events. They will also have a good idea of the total number of cruise ship visitors on any given day of the year. All lot of this information is also gathered by the public transport agencies — in order for them to know if, as and when they’ll need to provide extra busses and metro trains and commuter trains for large-scale events, such as pop/rock gigs and popular football matches and political demonstrations. Similarly the airport managers keep up to the minute data on air passenger inflows.
While it wouldn’t be easy initially, it’s only a question of joining the dots.. Measuring projected inflow against available accommodations.
Which brings me on to… as you write, “people who don’t have existing networks”. A good point. But, the point of a Guest Economy is to encourage visitors to develop those contacts prior to their visit. Those contacts could be based on the visitor’s profession, or trade or job (I see trade unions and workers’ organisations having a role here as well as business associations). Those contacts could be based on their academic interests (think professors and teachers as well as students), leisure/hobby interests, e.g. lacemakers, sports fans, anglers, runners (think of popular marathons and half-marathons — as well as receiving a running number they would receive an invitation from the organising entity.)
It’s win-win — the visitor, having received an invitation from an entity (which has been allocated a number of invites for their event, or an attraction, will feel welcome and wanted and, through the process, develop more personal contacts with residents through their participation in such an invitation scheme. Residents (who can easily prove their residency status) would also be able to issue invitations to friends and family.
It sounds, at first consideration, like the makings of a bureaucratic nightmare — but, if set up in the right way, it could be no more difficult than selling tickets to an event or attraction. If there’s a will to try it they’ll be a way to establish and administer it.
An example of how this already works in miniature (in a kind of way) — say I won’t to visit Cadaques in high summer — I do not call several hotels to try find a room for a couple of nights I call the Tourist office and they will tell me precisely how many beds are available on the day I intend to arrive — or, if August, more than likely, tell me that there are no beds available until September. Been there — done it.
Thanks for this! I just visited the North with my kids and I definitely think more should see Spain for what it is and not for what it’s famous for, if that makes sense. Great article, looking forward to reading more! -Gina from @thetravelishlife :-)
This is really interesting Amy. I'm sure a number of other countries are moving along the same lines. We will never stop tourism, and many countries, towns and rural areas depend on it. I live in a city that couldn't survive without it. Air bnb is an absolute menace and I'd ban it if I could! When I travel now I never use air bnb. We all, as residents and then tourists in other people's areas, have to learn to behave responsibly. Also loved your guide to Nerja - we had an apartment there for many years. Did you know that Ayo, whose restaurant you mention, was one of the boys that discovered the Caves?
Wow I did not know that about Ayo! That’s awesome. You make excellent points, I’m from a quite touristy part of New Zealand and I’ve seen both the negative and positive impacts of tourism there. I think moving beyond overtourism means acknowledging that it’s a complex issue and we all have a part to play
I don’t know if ‘sustainable’ and ‘tourism’ are two words that go together. That advertising campaign is very nice but I don’t know if it will resonate with most of the visitors and foreign residents that are looking for the beach and the sun here in Spain
You’re right, of course. There’s certainly an argument to be made that the only truly ethical tourism is no tourism! But I think (hope) there is still some room for nuance. I just ordered this book and looking forward to reading it: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-New-Tourist/Paige-McClanahan/9781668011782
I totally disagree that it is an ALL OR NOTHING situation. There is nothing unethical about tourism. What is unethical is the massive overtourism machine that has taken over so much of the world, destroying the very places they are promoting.
Mérida and Cáceres are brilliant for people who love Roman remains. I found them stunning. Plenty of tourists but not overwhelmed with them. Extremadura is notorious for heat but in October it’s very bearable even for Celtic-skinned wimps like me.
Yess Cáceres is beautiful! I loved the architecture there and the archaeological museum with the stelae (and the well). Mérida is on my list, I hope to make it there this year 🤞
Can vouch for Cangas de Onis near Picos de Europa NP. Though the local bus system up to and around Covadonga seemed a little opaque and rough around the edges for us foreigners to easily figure out, even with fluent Spanish speakers. But all the more satisfying when we got there!
Interesting! Thanks for this info, Paul. Good to know it is accessible by public transport, at least
Sorry it's taken me so long to respond to this post. There is a lot of great stuff to digest and ponder. First of all, I'm sorry for me but glad for you that you've moved to the UK. That makes a meeting slightly more complicated and less immediate but I hope that if you come to Madrid with a bit of time to spare that we can meet in person.
I appreciated your article about tourism. Spain's environment, tranquility, residents, and communities are certainly suffering from massive tourism and something needs to be done instead of shooting people with water pistols. Though at least they're not real ones.
You provided some appealing options that I've noted. Since a significant part of the country's economy depends on tourism, I hope the goverment follows through on its a strategy “Sustainable Tourism of Spain 2030,” based on three pillars of sustainability: socio-economic, environmental and territorial. It’s changing the fun-in-the-sun focus to promoting sustainable growth. To remain competitive in the industry, it’s moving from volume of tourists to value for them by prioritizing ecological and social integrity.
I hope all of us can do our part to see this through.
Thanks for informative and inspiring post.
Thanks a lot for reading and for your thoughtful response, Andrea! I’m never away from Madrid for too long so I’m sure we can meet up in the future 😊
LMK!
Well…we've had the mass-tourist economy, the tourist economy,then the traveller economy, then the visitor economy. I would say we're at point of a mash up of all three tested and failed tourist economy models and the traveller economy model. Suggest we shift to a guest economy, i.e. visitors only visit countries to which they have been invited. Over the past 22 years, apart from a single long weekend trip to Lanzarote in February 2020, immediately before the pandemic was officially declared in Spain, my partner and I have only visited countries to which we were invited by friends and family. By way of being invited we've visited the U.S. four times, Italy three times, Nicaragua (a solo trip for me), Sweden (a solo trip for my partner), innumerable visits to various parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and France a few times. And, by force of work commitments etc we've had to turn down invites to visit Turkey, Greece (Crete) and South Africa. And, just last week, we were invited to visit Lisboa in September. We’ve both always wanted to visit Lisboa together — I've never been, but my partner visited Lisboa donkey's years ago before we met.
A fully functioning Guest economy could work if it embraced civic associations, neighbourhood groups, trade unions, professional associations, sports groups, business oriented groups, etc etc etc. I am genuinely surprised that no European cities and regions have yet tested the Guest Economy model, which, at its core, would extend only an agreed number of invitations to visit as the place, be it city, town or region thinks it can comfortably accommodate. That's my dos centimos worth anyway. Salut!
I think it’s a lovely idea, if quite a paradigm shift from where we are at the moment. I suppose my thoughts go go people who don’t have existing networks they can tap into for this sort of thing. What do you think of the concept of home exchange or house sitting platforms? To me, they’re much more in line with the original ethos of Airbnb than the current platform is - people opening up their homes and the whole system operating through mutual trust and responsibility.
Hi Amy, thanks for picking up on my comment and taking the time to write such a considered response.
As far as the big cities in Europe go, e.g. Barcelona, Paris, Madrid etc. I’m not so sure that is such a huge paradigm shift. All these cities have had years to fine tune and develop their tourist/visitor services and all keep to the minute databases on availability of hotel, hostel, hostal beds, and other accommodations, including air b’n’bs etc. They also maintain and monitor active databases on events and features which attract visitors. I’m thinking here of trade, science and medical conferences as much as arts festivals and popular folk culture events. They will also have a good idea of the total number of cruise ship visitors on any given day of the year. All lot of this information is also gathered by the public transport agencies — in order for them to know if, as and when they’ll need to provide extra busses and metro trains and commuter trains for large-scale events, such as pop/rock gigs and popular football matches and political demonstrations. Similarly the airport managers keep up to the minute data on air passenger inflows.
While it wouldn’t be easy initially, it’s only a question of joining the dots.. Measuring projected inflow against available accommodations.
Which brings me on to… as you write, “people who don’t have existing networks”. A good point. But, the point of a Guest Economy is to encourage visitors to develop those contacts prior to their visit. Those contacts could be based on the visitor’s profession, or trade or job (I see trade unions and workers’ organisations having a role here as well as business associations). Those contacts could be based on their academic interests (think professors and teachers as well as students), leisure/hobby interests, e.g. lacemakers, sports fans, anglers, runners (think of popular marathons and half-marathons — as well as receiving a running number they would receive an invitation from the organising entity.)
It’s win-win — the visitor, having received an invitation from an entity (which has been allocated a number of invites for their event, or an attraction, will feel welcome and wanted and, through the process, develop more personal contacts with residents through their participation in such an invitation scheme. Residents (who can easily prove their residency status) would also be able to issue invitations to friends and family.
It sounds, at first consideration, like the makings of a bureaucratic nightmare — but, if set up in the right way, it could be no more difficult than selling tickets to an event or attraction. If there’s a will to try it they’ll be a way to establish and administer it.
An example of how this already works in miniature (in a kind of way) — say I won’t to visit Cadaques in high summer — I do not call several hotels to try find a room for a couple of nights I call the Tourist office and they will tell me precisely how many beds are available on the day I intend to arrive — or, if August, more than likely, tell me that there are no beds available until September. Been there — done it.
Home exchanges and house sitting? Great idea.
Should read: "say I want to visit" not won't
Thanks for this! I just visited the North with my kids and I definitely think more should see Spain for what it is and not for what it’s famous for, if that makes sense. Great article, looking forward to reading more! -Gina from @thetravelishlife :-)
Hi Gina! Thanks a lot 😊 glad you enjoyed it
I just got back its a beautiful country-I traveled all over the country.
Ooh lucky! What were your highlights?
It’s all beautiful- everywhere it’s magical
This is really interesting Amy. I'm sure a number of other countries are moving along the same lines. We will never stop tourism, and many countries, towns and rural areas depend on it. I live in a city that couldn't survive without it. Air bnb is an absolute menace and I'd ban it if I could! When I travel now I never use air bnb. We all, as residents and then tourists in other people's areas, have to learn to behave responsibly. Also loved your guide to Nerja - we had an apartment there for many years. Did you know that Ayo, whose restaurant you mention, was one of the boys that discovered the Caves?
Wow I did not know that about Ayo! That’s awesome. You make excellent points, I’m from a quite touristy part of New Zealand and I’ve seen both the negative and positive impacts of tourism there. I think moving beyond overtourism means acknowledging that it’s a complex issue and we all have a part to play