Travel industry ‘underestimates’ concerns about overcrowding, says sector accountant

Leading travel industry accountant Chris Photi has argued the sector underestimates the impact of overtourism on travellers.

Photi, head of travel and leisure at White Hart Associates, cited statistics suggesting that more than 20% of parents take their children out of school outside the official holidays, adding that sometimes the decision is made because of concerns about visitor numbers at peak times.

“I think the travel industry underestimates the potential impacts of overcrowding and overtourism on the consumer,” he told Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Conference.

He predicted increasing numbers of parents would take their children on trips outside the school holidays, adding that attempts to secure lower prices were also driving the trend.

Lawyer Joanna Kolatsis, director at Themis Advisory, agreed that concerns about overcrowding in destinations were becoming more common.

She said: “I think it’s become more of an issue. It’s certainly coming up in panel sessions [at conferences].

“People are bothered by overcrowding and they are choosing to go out of season. They don’t want to go when it’s at its busiest [in a destination].

“But then you’re also getting the fallout from the destinations themselves where they’re getting annoyed with the level of tourists that are descending in one go, which we’ve seen with protests. 

“So it’s becoming an issue not only for travellers, but for the destinations themselves.”

Travel Trade Consultancy director Martin Alcock said overtourism was a “massive issue”, adding that Spain was among the destinations ramping up efforts to spread visitors around more regions.

Yet travellers continue to want to see iconic sites such as Las Ramblas in Barcelona, he noted.

“Customers demand to see those peak areas and ultimately we’re in the business of selling what they want,” he said, pointing to a “challenge” that needs to be addressed.