Decline in tourism is sometimes also good

[arzina566]

When the Association for Tourist Traffic (VVV) was founded in Valkenburg in 1885, nobody knew the word 'tourism'. The VVV quickly became one of the starting points for the leisure activities of the Dutch. Entire families travelled by train to South Limburg at the beginning of the 19th century . There they had their holiday planned at the first VVV. A good 100 years later, tourism brings in €9 trillion worldwide and provides 10% of the jobs.

However, in a matter of months, the industry has been completely shaken, with 90% of the world’s population now under travel restrictions. Is this the end of tourism after 120 years, as The Guardian predicts ?

A while ago I read the book ' Future Shock' that was published in 1970. It describes the impact of too much change in too short a time on our society. This was done on the basis of previous social revolutions. The superlatives in the book still do not do justice to the insane impact on global tourism due to corona.

With over 80% of all tourism lost, over 120 million jobs are at risk and the impact is already 7 times greater than that of 9/11. Although tourism quickly recovered after previous crises such as SARS, wars and 9/11 and even continued to grow, it is now largely a matter of guesswork for organisations in the industry. Airplanes are grounded, cruise ships are in port and the 'corona traffic light statuses' shoot from green to red from one day to the next.

Tourism: the largest voluntary transfer of cash from the iraq telegram datarich to the poor, the 'haves' to 'have nots', in history – Lelei LeLaulu, CEO Counterpart

Where tourism used to be something for the rich, budget airlines and companies like AirBnB have made mass tourism possible and at its peak there were 1.5 billion tourists worldwide. The enormous impact this has on many national and local economies suddenly becomes painfully clear. Because although the Dutch GDP depends on tourism for 10%, in many developing countries like Aruba it is even more than 80% .



Corona is therefore hitting many countries hard in this respect. But there are also enough regions that are happy with the sharp decline in tourism. Overtourism has led to many protests worldwide , from Barcelona to Bali and from Amsterdam to Kenya. The 850,000 inhabitants of Amsterdam welcomed 19 million tourists last year. The 50,000 inhabitants of Venice even welcomed 30 million, with countless unpleasant consequences for the inhabitants and the city itself. When I walked through Amsterdam yesterday, I noticed that it was very quiet around Dam Square. Even quieter than in my hometown Maastricht last weekend.