Why Overtourism Could Ruin Your Next Vacation | Suresh Subudhi | TED

Last July I was in Rome. I walked from my hotel to the Trevi Fountain on the cobbled streets lined with beautiful cafes, bustling with residents and travelers, drinking their espressos and cheering and greeting each other. Small souvenir shops selling beautiful replicas of the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings. What an atmosphere. I soaked it all in, reached the Trevi Fountain, grabbed my favorite pistachio gelato and looked at the marvelous views. A perfect Roman holiday. Suddenly my alarm rang and I woke up from my dream. I was in Rome. I did walk from my hotel to the Trevi Fountain. But I felt rushed.

The cafes were crowded. People had to even queue outside. The shopkeepers had no time to entertain visitors. I reached the Trevi Fountain and forgot [to] grab my favorite pistachio gelato or find a bench to sit. I couldn't get to the steps. Thousands and thousands of people all around. Have you felt the same way? When you reach your dream destination, you feel as if it has been overrun. You feel as if it has become a selfie queue. I had the same feeling. And this is not an isolated incident. I had the same exact experience in Tokyo when I went there during the cherry blossom season. Tourists crowd every park in the city to get a glimpse of the famous sakura. I asked a resident: “How does [you] feel seeing so many tourists all around?” He told me that he doesn't bring his family anymore for a picnic under the sakura.

That response broke my heart. We are loving our favorite destinations to death. We are overrunning them. And residents are pushing back because it's impacting their livability. Their cost of living is increasing, congestion on the road, rental prices, food prices. They are pushing back. And they're pushing back like in Barcelona, with the graffiti asking tourists to go home. In Barcelona, in Italy, in Portugal, residents are pushing back. I have been researching the travel industry for [the] last 20 years and my two research subjects, the residents and the travelers, are on a collision course like never before. We have a travel crisis. The travel industry employs about 300 million people globally, and it’s going to be a $15 trillion industry by 2040.

[It’s] too large, [with] too many livelihoods at stake for us to ignore this crisis. But let me pause and ask you a question. Why do we travel? We travel for joy. Joy by experiencing the diversity this world has to offer. Joy by experiencing different lives. Joy through a shared connection. My daughter, son and wife are here, and I want them to experience the same joy I experienced in my Roman dream. I want all of you to experience the same joy. We need to bring joy back in travel. But it's a complex problem. We have millions of tourists getting inspired by social media and planning their travel destinations, and planning their travel itineraries. We have the travel industry, which is looking for short-term profits, and we have cities who don't know how to manage the tourist inflow. There is a path forward, though.

With the use of technology like AI and simple behavior changes, we could bring joy back in travel. Now imagine if we were to make the entire travel industry's objective, the airlines, the hotel, the travel tour operators, to bring joy to both residents as well as the travelers. And they have everything at their disposal, from technology to people to skilling. They will rise to the occasion. They will do three things: one, help manage crowd, help discover authentic experiences and help drive a really, really respectful connection between the resident and the traveler. On your last trip, did you feel rushed? Did you feel like you were going through a checklist, moving from one place to another place? Did it feel like a chore or did you feel joy? We all are super busy and we all land to the same destinations during the same peak season times without realizing quieter seasons, quieter times, or hidden paths.

What if technology could help us figure that out? FeelFlorence is an app by the city of Florence, which helps do exactly this for the travelers. It uses the data from sensors, from cameras, to understand crowded locations, and recommends personalized travel itineraries for tourists. It sends user alerts to avoid crowded locations. When this happens, it balances the load, and it is beneficial for both the tourists, as well as the residents. Cities are going down that path. Amsterdam. And even religious cities like Mecca or Varanasi are increasingly using technology to manage crowd. What was your last unforgettable trip? Was it the famous landmark, [the] Instagrammable picture, or was it a shared smile with someone?

Or was it a story that somebody told you, of course, in the backdrop of beautiful nature or a beautiful surrounding. I asked the same question to my friend. She said, "If I ignore my bachelorette party outside, my last unforgettable trip was in Vietnam. A fisherman took me on a boat ride, told me stories about Vietnam, told me stories about the life he has lived there. And I cannot forget that." What a beautiful connection. For me, it was my experience in Istanbul, in Turkey, where a cheerful cafe owner took interest in me and told me the history of Turkish tea, how to make it and how to drink it. Whenever I think about Turkey or Istanbul, my heart fills with joy. This is what we crave. This is what we seek. I'm sure some of you have been stranded at airports because of airline disruptions.

The airline has two options: one to check you into [a] hotel overlooking the terminal, or maybe organize a Turkish tea-making workshop. Maybe some of us will like it, and if we like it, we will become a loyal customer of the airline. Same is the case with hotels. If hotels can use technology to give custom concierges, which speaks in your language, curates local suggestions, helps you discover hidden gems, and walks along with you, you will become a loyal customer of the hotel. Imagine the possibilities of uncovering authentic experiences that give us true joy. Many residents in the destinations we love don’t see the direct benefits of a traveler. They only see the negative side. I know we are contributing to the local economy through our money.

But that may not be enough. And even if we want to contribute through our time, we don't know how to do it. Residents feel like how I used to feel as a child when unexpected guests arrived in my house, especially if they didn't carry any special gifts for me. I barely uttered a smile and I wished that they [would] leave as soon as possible. I'm sure many of you, if you could find a way to contribute through your time, you would. Again things are changing on this front. Golden Volunteer is an example of a platform which connects volunteers with organizations and projects looking for volunteers. It, in fact, goes to the extent of doing a volunteer background check. If we can unleash a “gratitude marketplace” at scale, we will create a deep connection between the traveler and the resident. Copenhagen is going on that path with CopenPay.

You get points. If you do gardening, you get points. If you do cycling, you can use those points for redeeming [at] attractions. If you had the opportunity to contribute with your time, what would you do? Some of you are animal lovers. You may want to be part of the elephant rescue centers in Thailand, or want to be part of sea turtle rescue centers in India. If you're an environment or nature lover, you may want to be part of coral reef preservation in the Great Barrier or in Maldives. And if you are a history lover like me, you may be wanting to be a part of restoration of an 800-year-old temple like this. In fact, I will seek such an opportunity and bake it in my itinerary because I will love to be part of something like this. The possibilities are infinite. The travel industry is going to grow. It's one industry that is probably encouraging tolerance in this highly polarized world.

It's for us to shape positively the destinations we love and the people who call it their home. I've talked about the tools at hand, and I've given you a few examples. I want to leave with one question. On your next trip, will you be a tourist or a joyful guest? It's time we bring joy back in travel. Thank you. (Applause)