Amy Browne

With the recent rise of the global middle class, international travel and tourism has rapidly grown. Long thought of as a benign and beneficial industry, tourism has been allowed to flourish in many areas with complete ignorance of or disregard for the impacts. In many destinations, this mindset has led to the phenomenon of overtourism. Far beyond the overcrowding of popular landmarks, there are significant negative cultural and environmental impacts that are unseen by visitors. Underneath the beautiful facade shown to tourists, host communities are struggling to deal with large numbers of foreigners who are ignorant of the social realities of each area, and who, through their activities, significantly harm the local environment. From resource shortages to cultural erosion, this paper explores the impacts on destinations faced with an influx of visitors, as well as the roots of the issue and possible solutions for overtourism.