Edinburgh ‘at risk of same fate as Venice’
● Demand for action over threat to ‘authenticity’
The Edinburgh World Heritage trust has warned the city risks being overrun with tourists.
New hotels opening, a growth in the holiday flats market, and record visitor numbers pose a serious threat to the city’s “authenticity”, it said. The trust described Venice as a “hollow city-museum shell” and called for action to ensure Edinburgh does not suffer “the same fate”.
As Edinburgh celebrates the 70th anniversary of its festivals, the group urged the city council to consider measures including more licensing controls and better waste management.
Heritage watchdogs have warned that Scotland’s capital is at risk of being over-run with tourists – just weeks before the 70th anniversary of its festivals is celebrated.
Experts have claimed that “commercial over-exploitation” of the city centre is posing a serious threat to the “authenticity” of the Edinburgh World Heritage site.
They said the historic heart of the city is under growing pressure due to the opening of new hotels, a growth in the holiday flats market, mounting pressure on residents and record numbers at visitor attractions.
The Edinburgh World Heritage Trust (EWH), which has pledged to try to influence a change in direction in the way the city is managed, has called for a greater balance to be struck between the needs of visitors, residents and local businesses, said there was a pressing need for work to be done to “understand the capacity limits of our fragile, historic city”.
The body is urging the city council to consider a range of measures to limit the impact of the city’s booming tourism industry in the city centre.
These include more stringent licensing controls, new curbs on “street noise” late at night, better waste management and the provision of more affordable housing.
Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin and Rome are among the cities which have faced growing demands to curb the number of visitors, while the authorities in Venice recently backed new measures, including imposing new limits at the most popular attractions and encouraging visitors to explore less-crowded areas. A clampdown in Edinburgh has been urged following years of expansion to try to meet an industry target of boosting the number of visitors by a third by 2020.
The city has seen visitor numbers soar by more than half a million in five years, to 3.85 million, with visitor spending jumping from a total of £1.01 billion to £1.31bn.
And the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group wants to attract another £400 million in visitor spending by attracting more Chinese tourists, boosting visits from January to March, and building more hotels.
New figures show the growth of tourism in Edinburgh has been faster than both Scotland and the UK, with a 33 per cent rise in domestic visitors and a 27 per cent increase from foreign tourists in five years.
NICHOLAS HOTHAM, EWH
EWH claimed that economic development has favoured tourism over residents, with historic buildings neglected while inappropriate hotels were pushed through despite public protest.
Nicholas Hotham, head of external relations at EWH, said: “The growth of the shortterm holiday lets sector has been exponential in the past five years. Visitor attractions are also reporting record increases in numbers and are near capacity, while residents in the Old Town are under increasing pressure from the visitor economy. Does this mean the city is now ‘full’?
“Venice receives over 20 million visitors a year and has become a hollow city-museum shell. If we are to avoid the same fate, we need to balance the needs of visitors, residents and businesses to ensure the city continues to thrive.
“This means we must seek to understand the capacity limits of our fragile, historic city. While tourism is clearly an engine of economic growth, consistent feedback from residents indicates that the needs of the visitor economy must be balanced against the needs of residents, especially in the Old Town.
“Commercial over-exploitation of the city’s historic environment represents a threat to the authenticity of the site and, in the long term, will damage visitor appeal.”
A spokeswoman for the city council said: “We’re currently reviewing responses to the consultation for the new management plan for the site, which is due to be agreed later this year.
“Balancing the needs of residents, businesses and visitors as well as ensuring the world heritage site continues to have a thriving economy was one of the issues raised during the consultation and the comments received will help us to make improvements.”
“We need to balance the needs of visitors, residents and businesses to ensure the city thrives”