described by National Geographic: “When locals in the charming Austrian lakeside village of Hallstatt staged a blockade of the main access tunnel, brandishing placards asking visitors to ‘think of the children’, it highlighted what can happen when places start to feel overrun by tourists. Hallstatt has just 800 residents but has opened its doors to around 10,000 visitors a day – a population increase of over 1,000%.” This scenario is not rare, and variations are being played out in tourist locations worldwide. Barcelona (over five million population in its greater metropolitan area) hosted approximately 15.5 million overnight tourists (not including day-trippers) in 2024. One of the world’s most-favoured cruise ports also blessed by picture-perfect beaches (usually crammed by sun worshippers elbow-to-elbow), this tourist mecca has more of everything – including demonstrators calling for less: like some 3,000 Barcelonians who took to the streets last year protesting “Tourist Go Home,” further emphasizing their displeasure by spraying tourists with toy squirt guns. It was not a big ruckus, but it got worldwide media play. In the bustling Croation port city of Dubrovnik, local authorities have taken to admonishing tourists: “We welcome you, but please be respectful.” And they’re backing up their demands with fines of up to US$200 for visitors wearing swimwear or other inappropriate clothing (or lack of it) in their historic Old City sector. According to Euronews, some cities are now charging a daily tourist tax that must be paid on arrival, and even fining drivers for wearing flipflops while negotiating traffic. In case you were planning an ultra-exotic trip to the Kingdom of Bhutan nestled in the Himalayas between India and China, be prepared to pay a daily “tax” of US$200 per day – just for being there and breathing the extra-clean mountain air. Respect your hosts, and they’ll welcome you. Despite such hindrances, there’s no reason to defer outbound travel or shrink the contents of your bucket list. All it takes is respect for one’s hosts, a good measure of flexibility and thoughtful planning. There’s too much out there to see and experience to deny yourself the joy of exploration.. CSANews | SUMMER 2025 | 23 Travel
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