2017 is ‘the year of sustainable tourism’, designated by the United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO). Sustainable tourism refers to tourism that protects the environment and tourism resources, helps the economies of the local communities, and preserves the native cultural heritages. However, the local inhabitants have recently been protesting against the visiting tourists as a lot of tourists have crowded Europe and several problems have occurred as a result.
  Last July, 4 members of the Cooperative United Party(CUP), forced a bus passing near the Camp Nou Soccer Stadium to stop and punctured the tires of the bus. Moreover, they wrote, ‘Tourism Kills Neighborhoods’ on the window with spray paint. This year, most respondents are worried about there being too many tourists. Also, in Venice, about 2,000 inhabitants protested against tourism because of too many tourists.
  The reason why this problem occurred is these two cities have a small number of inhabitants who are against the numerous tourists. There are 1.6 million inhabitants in Barcelona, but the tourists number over 30 million every year. In addition, there are about 50,000 inhabitants in Venice, but over 25 million tourists visit Venice every year. The biggest reason for the increasing tourists is the improvement of traffic management and the tourist industry. Specifically, lodge-sharing sites like Airbnb are now generally used. There has been a considerable increase in tourists because the company offers affordable accommodations to tourists who usually stay at expensive hotels or resorts before.
  However, as the number of tourists increased, there have been some problems in the inhabitants’ lives. First, there is the destruction of the environment and cultural properties. In addition, conglomerates are invading the local markets. Actually, the biggest problem is an increase of house prices. Before, tourists could reserve accommodations at an affordable price through websites like Airbnb. However, the house prices have increased as conglomerates and tourism companies now lease houses during holidays. Finally, as the residences become a tourist attraction, the inhabitants move to a suburb or other cities, which is called the ‘touristification phenomenon’.
  To solve these problems, last September 7, the Seoul International Fair & Sustainable Tourism Forum took place for discussing sustainable tourism. At the forum, Agustí Colom Cabau, the city councilor of Barcelona, introduced the program Tourism 2020 Barcelona as the solution. Tourism 2020 Barcelona, conducted by the government, designates 5 core tasks. The tasks are urban balance, tourist accommodation planning, protection of the environment, various activities for tourists and benefits for the citizens.
  Yoon Seong-wook, a professor in the Dep. of Political Science & International Relations, said, “Tourist attractions are basically residences. However, most people think of tourism as an economic necessity, so they couldn’t make preparations for the problems. I think it is the reason that the anti-tourism campaign occurred. Although Paris is one of the most popular sightseeing cities, it protected the residents as the government has separated the residences from the tourist attractions and controlled them in advance. They also protect the environment and cultural properties with the limitation of the number of tourists and strict punishments for misdeeds. Therefore, they are conducting sustainable tourism now.”
  The governments should strive for not only protecting the environment and cultural properties but also the inhabitants’ lives. However, it would be best if the tourists who are the fundamental cause of the problem could be conscious of sustainable tourism and act with that consciousness. As 2017 is the year of sustainable tourism, it would be great to think about it before going sightseeing.

By Yoo Seong-woo
sw38@cbnu.ac.kr