Going on holiday is not a crime – though some would like it to be

in the same way that hotels offer bargains out of season.

But are the extreme examples of “over-tourism” good enough reason to damn all travel as irresponsible, an affront to people and planet? Enjoying yourself on holiday is a “shallow, modern need”, said The Guardian over the summer. Others bemoan the extraordinary rise in the numbers taking flights, driven by an astonishing drop in the real cost of air travel (the price of a return flight from London to Nice has fallen from £678 in today’s money in 1973 to as low as £60). Calling for higher taxes on travel, they are only half able to hide their conviction that the “wrong” people are now able to go on holiday.

The great irony is that the “wrong” people could be the most sustainable travellers of all. One of the most fascinating insights of the recent BBC documentary Mediterranean was that the Spanish resort of Benidorm is so environmentally friendly. Since the impact of tourism is concentrated in one place with all the right infrastructure, it can be more efficiently mitigated by the authorities. The real nuisances are those travellers determined to step off the beaten track in search of “authentic” experiences in places that are quickly swamped because they can’t handle the pressure.

Last week, it was announced that the notorious Mallorcan town of Magaluf – better known for boozy young Brits – had been reborn as a high-end family destination. So I have a suggestion for those who would use the strained infrastructure of a few popular locations as justification for cracking down on travel per se. Instead of deploring your fellow man, book yourself onto a package holiday and find out what you’re missing.