Is Selfie Tourism And Airbnb Fueling Overtourism And Changing How We Travel Forever? Here’s What You Should Know More

Friday, July 18, 2025

A Travel and Tourism Economy successful Flux

Travel successful nan 1990s was a leisurely and lavish affair. For others, it was astir integrating pinch nan culture, experiencing nan sights, and being there, not conscionable simply beelining to nan finish. This old-fashioned attack has, however, been fixed nan aged heave-ho pinch nan emergence of technology, societal media and platforms for illustration Airbnb. Today, tourism is progressively astir content: a worldwide hunt for nan cleanable selfie aliases adorable threat to stock connected nan likes of Instagram and TikTok. Selfie tourism is changing really we acquisition our travels and that has ignited an important speech astir those changes.

And done nan years, platforms for illustration Instagram person altered really we spot and acquisition tourism. Certainly, visitors who erstwhile flocked to humanities sites for an acquisition of those sites are much apt now to photograph them to provender their feed. Visits to specified well-known destinations person led to “overtourism”: erstwhile excessively galore group put strain connected nan sites and section communities; nan infrastructure crumbles; and nan situation pays nan price.

The Rise of Selfie Tourism

We are successful an property of societal sharing that has revolutionised really we spot nan world. We person recreation influencers and societal media platforms to convey for making it easier for nan mean personification to return photos aliases constitute astir and stock their recreation experiences, and successful nan process person upped nan ante successful position of recreation ocular candy. At this point, nan “selfie tourist” is simply a well-trod archetype — nan personification who visits celebrated places for nan superior intent of getting a cool photograph for Instagram aliases TikTok. And pinch influencers promoting speed-hopping astir nan globe, it’s not uncommon for travelers to activity to cheque each iconic tract disconnected a database successful a three- aliases four-day sprint.

This caller behaviour — which recreation experts person dubbed selfie tourism — has worried recreation experts and residents worldwide. Selfie tourism is encouraging fast-food-style visits to places: Users swoosh successful and retired of places conscionable to get that cleanable changeable for their followers. The taste aliases historical value of a place, successful turn, whitethorn not consciousness accessible to visitors …. and alternatively opting to person an acquisition that’s been designed, built and created solely for societal media.

Airbnb’s Role In Changing The Travel Imagination

A 2nd facet to earlier successful nan emergence of overtourism is nan proliferation of services specified arsenic Airbnb, which helps you find a spot to slumber astatine nighttime seemingly anyplace connected nan satellite pinch easiness and lightning speed. Airbnb, of course, has democratized travel, introduced america to galore nosy caller modes of staying successful fascinating properties and galore nosy caller ways to unrecorded for illustration a local, but it’s besides been portion of nan problem connected nan overtourism front. By renting short-term homes successful vibrant neighborhoods, done Airbnb nan sharing system has helped summation tourer ft postulation to those areas, occasionally displacing residents and fueling skyrocketing rents and lodging prices.

But arsenic Airbnb has grown, truthful has its effect connected cities for illustration Barcelona, Venice and Paris. While some person agelong been celebrated destinations for leisure travel, a increasing number of short-term rental listings successful some cities person caused overcrowding and a deficiency of — aliases costly — lodging banal for locals. In cities for illustration Barcelona, wherever locals person swarmed nan streets to protestation nan dispersed of Airbnb rentals, and accused them of making it intolerable for existent locals to spend nan place, aliases beryllium nan place. The money nan selfie-tourism, and Airbnb visitors, bring pinch them isn’t worthy it — successful immoderate people’s sentiment — for these societal and biology costs.

Overtourism And How It Impacts Communities

Overtourism has go an escalating problem successful a number of world cities, and it’s not simply because of Airbnb and societal media. The flood of visitors is straining infrastructure, section services and environment. Some cities and world-famous landmarks — nan Eiffel Tower successful Paris, nan Colosseum successful Rome, nan beaches of Venice — are getting truthful clogged that locals and purer city-dwellers picture nan business arsenic intolerable to some them and their visitors. Public services strain to support up, and section group tin extremity up base nan antagonistic effects of tourism.

There are besides nan eco-implications of wide tourism, too. The recreation industry’s c emissions, nan discarded near down by hordes of visitors and nan depletion of earthy resources are only immoderate of nan problems facing destinations. With much and much group travelling purely successful nan sanction of ticking thing disconnected connected their Instagram, these effects connected nan situation are becoming progressively difficult to ignore.

Balancing Tourism and Preservation

Visiting section businesses is important Travel tin beryllium a crippled changer for your section system Despite nan increasing number of antagonistic externalities to overtourism, nan enactment of walking is still 1 of nan astir influential economical drivers to galore countries. “Destinations for illustration Venice and Barcelona trust very heavy connected that tourer dollar. It is 2025, and recreation is still a captious driver of nan world system and often a unit for good, generating jobs, helping section businesses thrive and fostering economical description . But that equilibrium betwixt preserving civilization and managing tourism is becoming much challenging.”

Attempts to curb overtourism and dispersed nan riches of tourism astir much evenly person been undertaken, too. The Dutch metropolis Amsterdam, which has spent years grappling pinch nan excesses of tourism, has clamped down difficult connected Airbnb rentals successful an effort to diminish nan number of visitors successful immoderate of its neighborhoods. In addition, organizations for illustration nan United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTOs) activity to promote sustainable tourism initiatives that tin promote sustainable recreation and offset nan antagonistic effects of tourism.

Bottom statement Looking down nan roadworthy Postpandemic recreation won’t needfully lead america toward regularisation and loneliness.

We find ourselves successful nan property of Instagram, Airbnb and selfie tourism, and recreation has evidently changed a lot. What utilized to beryllium a leisurely workout successful taste speech is now a panicked scramble to get nan champion imaginable photograph to station to societal media. Many places person benefited from nan economical spoils that person travel pinch these shifts — and location person been existent benefits — but besides forced specified basal questions as: What is nan lasting effect of tourism connected communities and nan environment?

And arsenic nan world moves into caller recreation norms, we must besides deliberation astir really our manufacture works. What we should beryllium striving toward is that mediate crushed that helps prevention not only nan planet, but besides nan visited destinations from their very accepted culture, societal and biology integrity. Sustainable tourism, responsible recreation and much meaningful experiences will beryllium cardinal successful bid to support nan recreation manufacture arsenic a affirmative force, some for travelers and wherever they recreation to.

Source: euroweeklynews.com