amna: Summer vacation time is quickly fading, but this season is expected to break records worldwide, with billions of people breaking out their suitcases, sandals, and swimsuits. And while tourism is a huge money maker, a growing number of destinations are finding their visitors, well, rather annoying, and asking many to stay away. Special correspondent Malcolm brabant has been looking at European hot spots that are trying to deter the holiday hordes, and he starts his report from the cotswolds in southwestern England.
Malcolm: Straddling the river windrush, bourton on the water is known as the little Venice of the cotswolds, a region of southern England notable for its mellow, honeyed stone architecture. [Church bells] This is England at its finest, it's picture perfect, almost fairy tale beautiful and wonderfully tranquil. But you have to get up early to find it like this, especially when the sun deigns to appear.
>> When you think a population of about 4300, and we get round about 1. 25 million tourists a year, you know, you can see how people get stressed out by it. Malcolm: Jon Wareing is both a district councillor and an occasionally frazzled resident.
>> I've had a number of people who've actually said that considering moving from bourton, because they just can't take the overtourism anymore. Malcolm: One of bourton's attractions is a replica of the village, a suitable metaphor for tourism's footprint here and around the world. >> When you come to live in a place like Baltimore water, you would be a fool to do so if you couldn't handle knowing that there was a peak tourist season, and you were going to see a lot of people.
Malcolm: An employee here for nearly 30 years, bryony holden is unapologetic about the commercial benefits of tourism. >> It doesn't really affect us. We work in the village, we welcome the people, and then we go home, close our from doors, and nobody else is there.
Malcolm: Although few in number, many villagers share a kinship with bigger destinations whose quality of life has been diminished by tourism. >> I think the challenge is how we get the right balance of numbers of visitors so that the experience for them and for local people is not a negative one. Malcolm: On santorini, the jewel of Greek islands, residents were angered at being urged to stay indoors on a day it was swamped by 17,000 cruise line passengers.
The Greek government is considering limiting the number of ships that can dock at once and overwhelm people like hotelier georgios damigos. >> When you increase the number of visitors 20 times, I know for a fact that our standards of living has gone down. Malcolm: As tourists crowded into narrow village lanes to capture the sunset over an extinct volcano, Portuguese visitor Rita cristovao made this appeal.
>> Maybe there should be some rules about the maximum visitors per day that santorini should have so every visitor can have a more pleasant experience. Malcolm: In early July in Barcelona, some demonstrators delivered their message to visitors with water pistols. >> I condemn this expression that goes against our country's values and sentiments.
Malcolm: Spain's tourism minister and Barcelona's former mayor jordi here. >> I want to reaffirm the values of hospitality of Spain and the Spanish tourism model and one of its characteristics, which is security. Malcolm: But Barcelona is turning up the temperature.
Cruise passengers who visit the city for less than 12 hours will have to pay an increased tourist tax, if the mayor gets his way. He says day trippers aggravate the sense of occupation and saturation without providing any benefit. That sentiment is shared from the canary islands to Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands.
Last year, exasperated by weekly drink and drug fueled bad behavior in the red-light district, the city launched a campaign aimed squarely at the usual suspects. Young British men. >> I think we can say this hasn't had much of an impact.
Malcolm: Based in Valencia, Spain, forward keys is a travel analytics company that monitors who's travelling where and when. Olivier Ponti is its director of intelligence and marketing. >> Looking at the year to date data, we can see a 17% increase in English arrivals airports in Amsterdam.
Malcolm: So what does Amsterdam need to do to try to keep the Brits away? >> So I think the strategy should be to try and identify those travelers from the U. K.
And other places that could be interested in a destination like Amsterdam outside of the high season. Malcolm: Amsterdam has pivoted. >> It makes you see how you can be just you while giving room to others.
Malcolm: It's also an appeal for more respectful behavior. >> As a tourist, if you can travel outside of the peak holiday season, that's going to be more enjoyable for you and take the pressure off local residents. Malcolm: Justin Francis runs an ethical travel agency which advocates that better treatment of local people and places result in better vacations.
>> Spend as many of your dollars in the local communities you can, which shouldn't be a hardship. But look for hotels, local bars, local restaurants, local markets. Because this is the trade off.
You come, you enjoy, but if your money is ending in local hands, it feels a fairer deal for them. Malcolm: The city of Venice can't wait for attitudes to change. This summer it's levied an entrance fee costing five euros, or $5.
45. But travel analyst Olivier Ponti says the tax has failed to deter visitors. >> People want to visit Venice.
They want to see it at least once in their life. Is a five euro tax really expect to deter people from fulfilling their dream of visiting Venice? I don't think so.
Malcolm: Back in bourton on the water, Thomas Wong from des Moines, Iowa was glad he beat the rush. >> When there are too many tourists, you find it, like, not as authentic compared to more remote regions, and it's not as like realistic. So I like when there's not as many people so you can live by yourself with your family.
Malcolm: But day trippers who bring their own picnics and don't contribute to the local economy provide ammunition for those who favor a venice-style tourist tax. >> As you can see, as the numbers start to increase, when it's absolutely full, there's a lot of wear and tear. Residents in the past felt pretty negative about having to be the ones that bear the cost of doing that when they're not the ones enjoying their own amenity.
Malcolm: When we visited, there was a better class of traffic jam. m. But on peak summer days, lines of cars and coaches, or busses, as Americans call them, can delay emergency vehicles by over an hour.
>> The problem is there's no longer any provision for coach parking in the village. It causes congestion and it causes a little bit of irritation on some parts, even though we really welcome the coaches. The real difficulty is there are far too many cars coming.
If more people took a coach and booked, the problem would probably be solved if there was sufficient provision for the coach parking. Malcolm: Tourism is becoming more of a battlefield with every passing day. For the "Pbs news hour" I'm Malcolm brabant in bourton on the water.
