Respect the locals: Tollman

THE key to tackling overtourism lies in ensuring the locals receive a benefit from tourists and that travellers are culturally sensitive, Trafalgar CEO Gavin Tollman told TD this week at the brand’s 2020 Europe release (TD yesterday).

“First and foremost, as an industry we have got to recognise that if the locals are pissed off and do not want you there, you’ve got a problem,” he said.

Tollman explained that it’s important to first look at what is driving overtourism and make sure the locals get an economic benefit from the tourists.

“If they start seeing an opportunity to engage and be part of tourism, they will embrace it,” he explained.

Travellers must also be culturally sensitive and “actually want to understand & sustain the cultural essence of the places”, he said.

Pollution is another consideration, with Tollman highlighting Trafalgar ditched single-use plastic (SUP) water bottles on board its coaches as part of its commitment to being SUP-free by 2022 (TD 23 Apr).

“When you do visit these destinations, you’ve got to ensure that you tread right and that you’re actually thinking aloud about how do you not leave your garbage behind,” he said.

Tollman noted the industry should also be conscious of “the opposite side of the equation: the enormity of the opportunity for tourism globally, because most destinations are dying for tourists, and that is undertourism.

“To me, that is the other side of the equation which is also incredibly exciting.

“My only caveat which comes with that is you’ve got to bring that same degree of consciousness to the new places that you’re going.”