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Arnie Weissman
In the year In the fall of 2019, I contributed a book chapter on Profitable Tourism being produced by the Center for Responsible Travel. The book, “Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future,” by Martha Haney and Kelsey Frenkiel, is slated for publication next summer.
But in that winter of 2020, over-tourism was not on many people’s minds. For the travel industry, the lack of tourism in most places has overshadowed all other issues. The book’s publication has been pushed back to May 2021, and a chapter has been added that effectively addresses the potential “new normal” of tourism after the pandemic.
I have long urged civic leaders and legislators to create more welcoming regulatory conditions for tourism because of its attractive economic benefits. Tourism jobs cannot be offshored or relocated, and even residents who are not involved in the industry find that a portion of their tax burden has been shifted to visitors.
For example, I mentioned that guests staying at a Chicago hotel pay not only city and state taxes, but also taxes to Cook County, the Illinois Sports Authority, and the Metropolitan Pie and Exposition Authority (MPEA). If you rent a car, the final bill will include a 5% state car rental tax, a 6% MPEA fee and a $2.75 city fee per rental period, in addition to the city’s 9% personal property lease transaction tax.
Chicago isn’t alone in hitting visitors. NYC & Company calculates that without tourism, New Yorkers would pay an average of $2,000 more in taxes.
The economic argument worked. To highlight the financial contribution of tourism, Christopher Rodrigues, the former chairman of Visitors Britain, once told me that various national tourism week celebrations should be replaced by national tourism weeks, as residents who take tourism’s economic benefits for granted feel they are leaving tourism behind.
But during recent International Tourism Months, the economic pain has been somewhat alleviated by government subsidies and the economic trade-off between tourism and destinations has been replaced by non-tourism pleasures for some residents.
Just as the Great Retirement is the result of people rethinking the direction of their lives and careers, economic benefits have become secondary to quality of life for many people. “We ended 2019 with a record 10 million visitors, $17.8 billion in spending and $2.2 billion in state tax revenue,” said Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO John De Vries at a recent Travel Weekly Hawaii Tourism Roundtable. We are hovering.
“One morning I’m on the beach. My neighbors are very happy. The plague has hit, and the beaches are back, no traffic, no parking problems.”
“It’s a sugar high. It’s temporary,” De Vries said. But the stuck-up Hawaiians felt they should have the final say on the flow of visitors, not travel needs. That sentiment no doubt contributed to the state shifting funding for tourism promotion from the Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau to the Native Hawaiian Development Council. (This decision is being appealed by the Bureau.)
And earlier this month, Barcelona’s mayor ran on a platform to boost tourism and freeze tour group sizes. The Hawaiian island of Oahu has already banned short-term rentals outside of resort areas. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blanjardi said when he signed the measure, “This is about taking back our neighborhoods.”
Ironically, I believe that the forces behind tourism and the current travel boom are two sides of the same coin. “Take control of your life!” It’s an epidemic-fueled mindset that prompts. and “Reduce your dependence on material goods. Taste experiences!” But also “take the time and take the trip you’ve always wanted – and do it with friends and family.”
How attached are these related feelings? Is it just a pendulum swing that will eventually reverse, or have we passed through the closed door behind us?
I guess the length of the tenure will depend on geography and generation.
Geography, because tourism is only a problem in small destinations. Sophisticated destination managers monitor residents’ resentment, but most are still strategizing to increase arrivals.
The generation, because even if the pandemic affected everyone on Earth, the strength of the impact depended on where you were and your pre-pandemic level of happiness.
When the pandemic hit, we all went inside more. Ironically, it makes some of us travel more and other travelers angrier. Both were born out of a desire to live life to the fullest.
And finally, the desire to live life to the fullest cannot be bad for travel.
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