‘Overtourism’ or ‘excessive tourism’ refers to a phenomenon in which tourists occupy famous destinations and invade the lives of residents beyond an acceptable range. Recently, many countries have announced tourism regulations to prevent this.
A massive rally was held in Barcelona, Spain, one of the countries affected by overtourism. Some protesters sprayed tourists with water guns. They complained that too many tourists are flocking to the city, making it difficult to live there.
They argued that there was no place for residents to live as real estate prices soared and problems such as noise, traffic jams, and trash because of a large influx of tourists. Spain and many other countries suffer from overtourism.
Many tourists will boost a city, and most residents will benefit, but some will be troubled by too many tourists. Residents who escape various problems may accept new regulations positively, but merchants who do business with tourists as their leading consumer group may accept them negatively.
Tourism can bring significant benefits to a country. Still, if it becomes excessive, the damage to residents can also be considerable. This problem can be viewed from the perspective of those who have lived in the country as a violation of their rights to live and from the perspective of those who have traveled to the country as a violation of their right to travel freely.
In addition, some people conflicts have tourism-related businesses, so this problem can cause conflicts between residents. Therefore, a neutral tourism policy should be announced to alleviate conflicts arising at the domestic and national levels due to overtourism. Alongside this, I think that at the individual level, we should have moral travel manners.
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