Where to go this summer? Or: Where better not? The “No-List” reveals which travel destinations urgently need a break from us.
Climate change can be felt all around the planet: with the devastating floods from the Ahr to Pakistan, with the hurricane damage in the Caribbean, the droughts in California and Europe, the bush fires and flood disasters in Australia. And travel has a part to play: It contributes around eight percent to global CO2 emissions. The masses of visitors have also become an existential problem for the local population in many places, just like the water shortage, which travelers exacerbate with their high consumption.
The No List 2023
Every year, renowned Californian travel book publisher Fodor’s issues a “No List” of regions that could use a break from tourism and are best left alone for a while. This year it was created based on three criteria: natural treasures that need a recovery period; cultural hotspots suffering from overcrowding and places with dramatic water shortages. But don’t worry: It’s not about banning travel, but about distributing and redirecting the flow of people in a socially and environmentally friendly way.
1) Natural treasures that need a recovery period
Some natural treasures of the world have suffered so much from the onslaught of tourists that governments are closing entire regions to vacationers or charging entrance fees.
France: Étretat and Calanques
Caused by strong storms and surf, coastal erosion is a problem worldwide. If overtourism is added, the process accelerates further. For example at the chalk cliffs of Étretat on the Norman Alabaster Coast. The popular selfie spots on the cliffs are being overrun by holidaymakers, so there are more and more cancellations. The small town of Étretat is also suffering: last summer, the sewage treatment plant collapsed because it had to cope with three times as many visitors as residents. The cliffs near Marseille are sometimes so overcrowded that access had to be restricted. Only 400 guests per day are allowed to go to the beaches of the Calanques National Park.
California: Lake Tahoe
On the California-Nevada border, once cobalt blue, Lake Tahoe is becoming increasingly polluted. The culprits are the exhaust fumes and tire wear from the miles of cars lining the shore. According to Fodor’s, the lake is in dire need of a rest.
Antarctic
The absolute numbers of visitors to Antarctica are relatively small and should remain so. Because the tourists are not spread out over the huge continent, but concentrate on the Antarctic peninsula. And it is extremely sensitive to climate change. The temperatures have recently risen extremely and the extinction of species has accelerated rapidly. Even the long and CO2-intensive journey by ship and plane pollutes the ice, it becomes darker and melts even faster than it already is.
2) Cultural hotspots suffering from overcrowding
Water shortage, inflation, displacement: Cities like Venice, Barcelona, Paris, Lisbon or Dubrovnik have long since exceeded the limits of sustainable tourism. Tip: Less famous cities are much more happy about visitors.
Italy: Venice and Amalfi Coast
In Venice, the problems caused by tourism have become so great that many residents have moved away: In summer, up to 100,000 holidaymakers come to the small lagoon city every day. Now an attempt is being made to limit the damage by banning the cruise ships from the center and charging 3 to 10 euros for entry, depending on occupancy.
On the Amalfi Coast it’s similarly overcrowded: you can’t find a parking space, but you can’t drive any further – on the narrow Amalfitana the cars often hardly move anymore, it’s so crowded. Unbearable for the residents of the coast: the road can hardly be used anymore, some people are trapped in their houses and, in the worst case, rescue vehicles have no chance of getting through. Last summer, an attempt was made to halve the traffic: vehicles with odd numbers on their license plates were only allowed to drive on odd dates, those with even numbers only on even days.
UK: Cornwall
The residents of Cornwall are not doing much better, and they are also suffering massively from the traffic of holidaymakers. The region’s infrastructure is not designed for crowds, and the large number of vacation rentals has made living space scarce and expensive.
Netherlands: Amsterdam
As early as 2019, those responsible forged a ten-year plan to better distribute the flow of tourists in the city. The goal: to get guests to different parts of the city at different times. Because in the city’s hotspots, the residents suffer. Every year as many guests come to Amsterdam as the whole country has inhabitants: 17 million. Now Amsterdam has made a name for itself with the online campaign “Stay Away”. It is intended to keep young Britons away who come to Amsterdam to party excessively.
Thailand
Thailand also wants to move away from the crowds and towards fewer “high-end” guests, as Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn put it. And after seeing the positive effects of closing the national parks during the pandemic, all parks are now closed to visitors for at least one month a year. The Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh, covered by the blockbuster “The Beach” with Leonardo di Caprio has been closed several times because the damage to the ecosystem caused by around 3000 visitors a day was too great. The Similan and Surin Islands are also closed in phases so that nature can recover.
3) Regions with dramatic water shortages
Showers, pools, spas, mountains of laundry: Tourists use a lot of water, often in regions where it is scarce anyway. Especially on islands, fresh water is scarce and in hotspots like Bali, the Caribbean or Hawaii, tourists use much more water than locals – in some hotels eight times as much as a resident.
United States: Hawaii
Last summer, the Maui government banned people from watering their lawns or washing their cars. But the hotels with their pools, lawns and golf courses are allowed to continue as before – which naturally leads to conflicts. The crowding out of locals by vacation rentals is also a big problem here.
Southern Europe
Little rain in winter, extremely high temperatures in summer: Southern Europe suffers from a lack of water, especially our favorite countries Spain, Italy and Greece. Northern Italian farmers are also suffering from the drought, and the Greek islands, which depend on water imports, are struggling to meet the needs of residents and holidaymakers.
The American Southwest
Droughts and water shortages are now dramatic in the western United States, affecting 40 million people. In 2021, Lake Powell was only about 30 percent full, and if the water level of Lake Mead, the country’s largest water reservoir, continues to drop, it will soon be unable to generate hydroelectric power on which 1.3 million people depend. In Utah, too, the masses of visitors to the famous national parks are partly responsible for the sharp rise in water consumption.
And now?
All this does not mean that we should stop traveling. Travel opens your eyes and horizons, and vice versa, many people depend on tourism. But when choosing a holiday destination, it is a good idea not only to consider your own needs, but also the needs of people and nature on site. And perhaps to use those offers that have high environmental and social standards and to choose tour operators who are committed to sustainable tourism (can be found, for example, at forumandersreisen.de). If you then also avoid the high season and hotspots, you help to relieve the burden on regions and allow more people to benefit from sustainable tourism.