Over-tourism and virtual travel
The last time I visited the Louvre Museum in the early 2020, the famous palace of arts was chaotic, packed with tourists from all over the world – some shouting, some talking over their smartphones, and some sitting on the floor. Somebody even suddenly jumped-in between me and a painting to take a photo.
It was shocking to see how far over tourism went.

In 2017, the city of Barcelona surprised the world’s tourism industry by launching a strategy to limit the number of inbound tourists.　Local residents were angry with ill-mannered travelers staying in residential areas; the sentiment led to huge protests.

Even in Japan, over tourism has been a serious issue. In Kyoto, Maiko – apprentice geisha – were chased by tourists trying to take photos; some tourists even pulled the sleeves of their expensive costume or tried to snatch ornamental hair pins from Maiko. Local residents were also annoyed by tourists who took photos of traditional townhouses .

No matter what the revenues brought in by visitors,
if locals are not happy, it should be evident this model needs to be adjusted. Think about it: if residents do not welcome tourists, how could tourists authentically enjoy a destination?
In those days, as a member of a DMO – destination marketing organization – I felt that we could not ignore this issue as something that is unrelated to us.

That seems a long time ago. Then, the virus changed the world.

Over tourism is no longer a topic and digital transformation is a buzz phrase in Japan. Thanks to technology we can enjoy various things online and the young generations seem to be satisfied by a virtual world with less travel.

Major travel agencies have always had a sense of the imminent crisis. They were already suffering slumping profits due to decreased sales in-group tours, and now are looking to a new digital strategy as the key to survive in this pandemic age. As proof of it, these days few hours long ‘online tours’ seem to be selling well.

Will young people start to travel in the real world after the pandemic comes to an end?

Is traveling unnecessary?
Before the pandemic, Japan was expecting that inbound tourists would grow dramatically in occasion of the Tokyo Olympics. In the same way, operators in the tourism industry were looking forward to the Adventure Travel World Summit to be held in Hokkaido in 2021. Tourism is a star industry, able to activate a regional revitalization and bring in foreign currency.

Then, Japan started its “stay home” period and the expression “Fuyo Fukyu” – unnecessary and non-urgent – became a popular slogan. People interpreted the phrase in their own way. Some literally stayed at home, some others travelled to the countryside searching for fresh air. Those who are allowed a flexible working style and could afford it financially, enjoyed “workcation”,
Camping became popular and, particularly, the new trend of solo camping.

These ‘migrations’ to rural areas did not please locals – “self-restraint police“. – who spotted “the outsiders” by their car license plate, started to post complaints on the internet. Following the launch of the government ‘”Go to Travel” campaign – aimed to stimulate domestic tourism and energize the slumping economy – such complaints grew even louder. Local residents felt visitors to less affected area where selfish and unaware of basic infectious disease control rules. In fact, infections in popular destinations like Hokkaido and Okinawa increased after the holiday periods.

Because of these controversies, everyone has been thinking, “what is unnecessary and non-urgent”? Some dare to travel despite health risks and criticism by others; some others don’t.
Is traveling really non-essential for our lives? What about sports, theatre, or concerts?

Social responsibility and self-transformation in tourism
All these made me think again: “What is tourism?”
Tourists want to be happy; locals should be happy.
We must protect our environment at the same time. Sustainability is an unavoidable topic in tourism, and I think it’s great to seek social responsibilities and personal growth in travel.

Personally and professionally, I have mixed feelings about what I should do. I share a sentiment close to “flight shame ” due to carbon dioxide emissions. Yet, we certainly couldn’t return to a time when it took a month to visit other countries by boat, could we? I won’t book a flight to a town I can reach by train in a few hours. However, I would not be able to reach other regions of Japan – let alone countries abroad.

Sustainability is important but it can’t be extreme; when the restrictions on going out are eased I wish to travel most of all to have fun.

I feel tourism has been over- categorized too much, and there tends to be an exaggerated search of significance in travel.
It could be ‘refreshing’ to see it as a simple form of enjoyment in a different environment.

The Japanese word “Kanko”- 観光 tourism – is composed of two Chinese characters; “to watch” and “light”. It literally means “watching the lights of a country”. Isn’t it beautiful? A visitor could ask locals help to see the cherished, valuable things in their territory. That is tourism.

Of course, there may be strategic and technical solutions to tourism problems.
Yet, with a mindset like this we might be embracing a new way to travel, the right direction. Now, which treasure of which region would I go find next time? It could be yours.