WEBVTT

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What problems are rising
tourist numbers causing?

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In the record year of 2019, there
were around 1.5 billion international

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tourists, nearly 20% of
the world's population.

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This surge is evident in places like
Cancun in Mexico and Mallorca Spain,

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where locals are fed up of
garbage, noise and soaring rents.

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We're taking a look at
the booming tourism industry

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and its consequences.

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Let's start with the figures.

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As tourist numbers
rise, so do revenues.

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For the global tourism industry,
revenues hit an all time high of

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almost 1.5 trillion U.S.

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dollars in 2023.

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The only major dip
was during the pandemic.

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Tourist arrivals fell by more than
70%, leading to a massive loss of

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employment in the sector.

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In 2020 alone, more than 60 million
people worldwide lost their jobs.

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Since the pandemic and the
world reopening, people have

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rediscovered their wanderlust.

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This is Julia Simpson, she represents
around 200 companies from the travel

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and tourism industry.

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We're also going to be looking at
our sector is going to be growing at

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double the rate of general GDP.

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That does vary a lot by region around
the world, but averaged out we are

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actually going to be
growing as a sector faster than

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the general global economy.

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Here's where most
tourists went in 2023:

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100 million to France,
85 million to Spain, followed by

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the USA, Italy, Turkey
and Mexico with 42,000,000.

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Let's start with Cancun on
the Mexican Caribbean coast.

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It has around 900,000 residents
but received 10 times that number of

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tourists by plane last year, more
than any other destination in Mexico.

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Most of these tourists came
from the USA, Canada and Colombia.

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There's a range of
options to suit all budgets.

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Mexico is a very, very strong
market and it is expected to grow.

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It's going to break all records.

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There are going to be record numbers
of visitors and record numbers of

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income that's going to
be generated and jobs.

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In 2023, tourism accounted
for around 14.4% of Mexico's GDP.

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By 2034, that's expected
to jump to around 15.8%.

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But what's the downside?

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Let's take a look at Spain, whose
economic growth is just as dependent

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on tourism as Mexico's.

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But locals on the popular vacation
island of Mallorca are fed up

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with mass tourism.

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Go home, go home.

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Thousands are now
taking to the streets.

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Around 14.5 million visitors went
to the Balearic Islands, including

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Mallorca, in 2023.

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That's twelve times
the local population.

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The majority of these visitors were
from Germany, Britain and France.

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According to
media reports, property prices on

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the Balearic Islands have
tripled over the past decade.

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The locals are being pushed out
and are complaining about garbage

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and noise pollution.

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Other tourist hotspots
such as Barcelona and Venice

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have similar problems.

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The lagoon city of Venice had almost
5 million visitors in 2023, with only

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around 50,000 locals
still living in the old town.

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A fee has now been introduced for day
visitors, but whether it will relieve

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the burden on residents is unclear.

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Kyoto in Japan is also experiencing
over tourism, but we'll come back

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to that later.

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Back in Mexico, we've made our way to
Tulum, a popular holiday spot about

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two hours drive from Cancun.

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According to the latest
figures from 2020, the town has

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around 47,000 residents.

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Which is an increase of over
65% over the last 10 years.

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Karla Acavedo has seen first
hand the problems this has caused,

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especially with trash.

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The town has set up a waste
separation system, but a lot of

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the garbage still ends up in
the environment and the waste

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collection isn't
working as it should.

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For Carla, it's clear that
the town has grown too quickly.

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Besides the trash
problems, there's also a big issue

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with wastewater disposal.

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Meanwhile, hotels in Tulum are
promoting themselves as sustainable.

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What does she make of that?

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We reached out to a hotel that
claims to value sustainability.

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Thonatiu Meza shows us how and where
the hotel sorts its waste, which is

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then picked up by
companies for recycling.

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The hotel also has its own sewage
treatment plant to clean wastewater,

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and the water quality
is checked regularly.

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Plus, they generate 20% of
their electricity from renewable

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sources.

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The hotel belongs to the Nomade People
Group, headquartered in Buenos Aires,

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and it doesn't come cheap
at around 300 to 1200

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dollars per night.

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How's this hotel struck a
chord with modern tourists?

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According to booking.com, 80% of
travellers say sustainable travel is

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important to them.

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The platform surveyed
33,000 travellers from 35

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countries and regions.

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But what exactly
is sustainable tourism?

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Sustainable tourism development means
that tourism must be developed in

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a way that creates social, cultural,
environmental and economic benefits.

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Monica Chien and researchers
sustainable tourism.

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What are
the important criteria?

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Tourism should
generate benefits and revenues

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for the local communities, it
should help preserve the culture and

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heritage of the local communities
and generate aware cross cultural

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understanding and awareness. But at
the same time doing so without

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damaging the environment.

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But how much do the locals
actually benefit from tourism?

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All inclusive resorts
are booming in Mexico.

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They offer great value for money
and cruises are a big business too.

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Foreign operators like Royal
Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival are

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raking in the most cash.

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Andrés Aguilar tells us that
the state tourism law has

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already been reformed.

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It's supposed to focus on social
development and better spatial

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planning also for newly
developed tourist areas.

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But what about places
like Tulum and Cancun?

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Leda Peralta has collaborated
on a new UN study on sustainable tourism.

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So what role do vacationers play in
all this, especially those who want

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a sustainable vacation?

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Remember, 80% said it
was important to them.

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Unfortunately, tourists do not always
behave responsibly when they go on

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holiday, and that is for several
reasons #1 the temporary distance of

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tourists from their daily routines,
responsibilities and restrictions

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triggered situational disinhibition.

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If tourists are told do not do this,
do not go there, chances are such

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an instruction will create
what we call a boomerang effect.

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They may start to act in a way that.

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Challenge established norms or
acceptable behaviours just like

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a four year old kid.

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But things can change
when politics gets involved.

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Have a few examples to share with
you Maya Bay, which is in Thailand.

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It is home to the stunning beach
made famous by Leonardo Dicaprio's

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film The Beach.

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It had been very popular for
years and mass tourism had actually

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devastated the ecosystem
around the Bay.

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Thousands of tourists were visiting
the National Park every day and

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destroying the coral reefs.

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In 2018, the government
closed the Bay for four years.

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And even after Maya Bay reopened
tourists, the number of tourists

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that can be allowed in
that area is also limited.

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As we mentioned earlier, Kyoto and
Japan has also been heavily impacted

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by over tourism.

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Kyoto for example, tourists visiting
the geisha districts, they touch

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the geisha's clothes, they teared off
their kimonos, they take their photos

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and stop their ways, etc.

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So the city actually banned the tourist
buses and instead they provide

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tourist only express buses on the
weekends to some of the major tourist attractions.

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But let's shift our
focus back to Latin America.

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Costa Rica has been certifying hotels
and tour operators for sustainable

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tourism since 1997.

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La Fortuna, located in London,
the heart of the rainforest, attracts

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150,000 tourists annually.

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They come seeking a different
kind of vacation, like eco tourism.

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Juan Sostheim has
specialised in this.

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He explains to us that this hotel can
provide for the 120 residents itself

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by embracing the
principles of a circular economy.

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A room costs around $200.00 a night.

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What does Juan think
of Costa Rica's image?

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Costa Rica's economy
relies heavily on tourism.

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There are about 56,000 accommodation
options available in the country,

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roughly half of
which are state certified.

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But it's still tricky to gauge
how sustainable a vacation in Costa

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Rica really is.

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So where is tourism heading?

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We've seen that the sector
revenues are clearly on the rise.

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But there aren't many comparative
figures for more sustainable tourism.

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While some initiatives and policy
decisions are moving in the right

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direction, we at least couldn't
find a strong trend towards a truly

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sustainable sector or business.

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What do you think?

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Can the tourism sector
become genuinely sustainable?

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We'd love to hear your
thoughts in the comments.