Cities that are being destroyed due to the tourism industry

Global tourism is one of the largest industries, opening the door to endless possibilities in the economies of different countries. The growth rate of the tourism industry is even higher than the GDP, and its average contribution to the global economy exceeds 8 trillion per year.

In our Bangladesh too, the tourism industry is considered as one of the possible main sources of national income. According to experts, when a tourist comes to a place, it creates employment for four people in different sectors. As such, if one lakh tourists come to our country every year, then four lakh jobs will be created every year.

According to an estimate by the World Travel and Tourism Council, in the eight years from 2009 to 2017, Bangladesh earned Tk 6,699.16 crore through the tourism industry. Meanwhile, according to a survey report by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1.41 percent of the country's employment, or about 8.5 million people, has been created through the tourism sector. Besides, 1.56 percent of the GDP or value addition through this industry is Tk 16,409 crore.

So tourism industry is a blessing for our Bangladesh. Along with the development of the tourism industry, the economic prosperity of this country will also accelerate. So we all want the tourism industry in Bangladesh to gradually get better and better.

But the funny (or sad) thing is that the tourism industry is not a blessing for all countries. On the contrary, there are countless examples of the opposite of hit. The tourism industry is having a devastating effect on a number of notable cities around the world. The natural environment of those cities is being destroyed due to overcrowding and overcrowding every year, affecting the daily life of the local people.

Now I will tell you about some of the cities, for which the tourism industry has become a curse instead of a blessing.

Amsterdam

The city of the Netherlands has a population of less than 1 million. But in 2018, 18 million tourists came to this city from abroad. As a result, the city now attracts more tourists than its original inhabitants. In this way, the identity of the locals has been lost. So all kinds of efforts are being made to make tourists uninterested in this city.

The fees for real estate rented to tourists for a temporary period are constantly being increased. The city's tourism authorities have also come up with a more innovative way to stem the tide of tourists. They stipulate on Airbnb that no rental listing can accommodate more than four people at the same time, and no apartment can be rented for more than 60 days a year.

San Francisco

This seaside town in California has always been a major tourist attraction in the United States. That's because of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Fisherman Wharf. But recently, for the sake of Silicon Valley, the love of tourists for this city has multiplied in one fell swoop. One of the city's main attractions at the moment is Lombard Street, known as the "Curved Road in the World".

That attraction has become so great that traffic jams have become a daily occurrence in this city. That's why San Francisco is now the fifth busiest city in the world. The tourists of the city are mainly responsible for this. But it should not be forgotten that the city is earning 9 billion US dollars annually from the tourism industry. Capitalist Americans will push Lakshmi so easily! Therefore, the city planning authorities are working hard to reduce traffic congestion and improve other parts of the city, so that all visitors do not just come and gather in a few places.

Santorini

Santorini is a uniquely beautiful island off the coast of Greece. The whitewashed houses, their blue roofs, and the turquoise waters as far as the eye can see, all combine to make the heart of a tourist feel unearthly. But the island is not lonely but beautiful. The island city is bustling with tourists during the summer months.

Incredibly, it is true that the number of original inhabitants of the city is about fifteen thousand in Mereket, whether it is there or not, in 2015, 636 cruise ships brought 7 lakh 90 thousand tourists. This huge amount of tourist pressure and groaning can be tolerated! So an inviolable policy has been issued by the Greek Department of Tourism. More than 8,000 tourists cannot set foot on the island daily.

Prague

What makes Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, a popular destination for party-loving tourists? The answer is very simple. The open bar here, and the cheap beer there. At the same time, where there is such a small fountain of joy, what else can there be without a public meeting! But alcoholics are no longer satisfied with just drinking alcohol. They also like to let people know that they are drunk. In this way the foreign liquor was polluting the night environment of the city of Prague.

At one point the situation became so tense that local authorities have now imposed a citywide "nighttime silence" to bring the situation under control, starting at 10pm. Segways have also been banned, and efforts are currently under way to control the city's famous (or infamous) beer bikes.

Venice

Venice is a floating city in Italy. Almost everyone knows that this city is sinking. At least one hundred floods occur here every year. But that flood is natural. The city is also drowning in another artificial flood, and may one day be completely submerged. That is the flood of tourists. Enthusiastic tourists come to this city by water taxis and cruise ships to visit various historical places. But they do not want to understand that the infrastructure of these places is getting more and more eroded day by day because of them. The city's aquatic and aerial environment is particularly vulnerable to pollution due to cruise ships.

Nowadays, the city administration is playing a very strict role in controlling these. Littering, participating in sports, going out in public without clothes, leaving a love lock, and writing on a tree or building have been declared legal offenses. Various restrictions are also being imposed on renting new hotel rooms.

Barcelona

Barcelona's popularity is not limited to club football. It is also one of the major tourist destinations in Europe. That's why the city, with a population of just 1.6 million, was crowded with 30 million visitors last year. Their main destination is of course the beach. But most of the time, many visitors go to the beach and get so overwhelmed with joy that it goes beyond the level of civilization. As a result, the locals of the city of Barcelona have now become restless in the agony of tourists.

Evidence of exactly how restless they are has been found earlier this year. The anti-tourism movement was started by some locals in Barcelona. And at one point it turned violent, when they continued to attack a tour bus and hotel. They have also raised reasonable reasons as to why they did so. The demand for them from tourists is not very high. Just don’t litter all over the city, and they’re happy to be a little quieter at night. But foreigners also have a strong objection to meet Setuku. Thus, as the relationship between the locals and the tourists continues to deteriorate, there are doubts as to how long Barcelona will be able to retain its crown in the tourism industry.

Machu Picchu

Located in Peru, this village of the ancient Inca civilization is an invaluable example of the history of human civilization. Naturally history-loving and beauty-loving, its attachment to the two classes of people exists in another dimension. That's why in 2011 the Peruvian government and UNESCO jointly set the number of daily visitors at 2,500, but the village is becoming more and more visited by tourists several times a day. Moreover, since July last year, it has been announced that only certain places will be open to tourists at certain times of the day, but in reality, many are not abiding by it. And the worry is, Machu Picchu doesn't really have the capacity to hold this huge crowd.

Sights are always at risk: something worthwhile is lost! Moreover, National Geographic had warned them in a report in 2002 that landslides could occur at any time under human pressure. Therefore, the administration should immediately strengthen the tourism law, and ensure its proper implementation.

Thanks to everyone for reading my article