Novel trends challenging tourism

Water scarcity and tourism

Garriga (2021) puts the water sustainability of the planet on the shoulders of tourism, stating that the consumption of water by tourists will determine the sustainability of the planet. Hotels and resorts use water for cleaning, for pools and spas, fountains, cooling, irrigation, laundry, kitchens, golf courses and guest needs such as showers and toilets. In general, the more luxurious the accommodation, the more water usage occurs (Gössling, 2013). While the global share of water usage by tourism is negligible at 1–2%, the localized impacts in tourist destinations is more consequential (Becken, 2014; Gössling, 2013). For example, in Bali, Indonesia, 65% of water usage is consumed by tourism, leading to conflict between the hotel industry and local communities (Becken, 2014). In Jamaica, tourists use 4–10 times more water daily than locals (Council for Responsible Tourism, 2013). The Mediterranean is one of the most visited tourist destinations globally and the strain of tourism water usage directly competes with the needs of locals (Becken, 2014). This competition between locals and tourists can be illustrated in Zanzibar, Tanzania where locals are allowed 30 liters of water per day while tourists are allowed to have 2,000 liters per day (Crockett, 2020). This inequity in the use of water between residents and tourists led to protests in Kerala, India and Costa Rica (Crockett, 2020). In Bali, golf courses alone use 3 million liters of water per day while 1.7 million of the 3.9 million residents have inadequate access to water (Council for Responsible Tourism, 2013). With so many of the least developed countries (46 out of the lowest 50) relying heavily on tourism as their primary source of earnings, this leads to further disparities in access to fresh water (Becken, 2014). There are also disparities in the accessibility to water between small, locally owned tourist businesses and multi-national companies. The latter has resources to purchase water, develop infrastructure and use new technologies to reduce scarcity (Becken, 2014).

Tourism can also have a negative effect on the quality of water. A study of West Lake, a popular tourism destination in China, found a positive correlation between tourist arrivals and water pollution. Water pollution created by tourism can come from; raw or improperly treated sewage, chemicals used for cleaning and fertilizers ending up in the sea, rivers, or lakes (Wang and Haun, 2021). Thus, not only can tourism activities use an excessive amount of water, but they can contaminate the water supply that does exist.

Mitigating water scarcity from tourism

The ways to mitigate the problem of water scarcity are to lower the demands on water, increase the supply of water available and keep the available water free of contamination. Advances in desalination have made it feasible for seaside resorts to produce their own water supply from seawater and in some cases provide water for residents. Water usage can be reduced through zero-scaping or xeriscaping and grey water for landscaping, investing in water-saving technology, using low-flow showerheads and faucets, investing in rainwater cisterns and increasing initiatives to manage consumer perceptions of green initiatives such as towel reuse and reduced daily cleaning. It is estimated that by using simple measures, hotels can reduce their demand for water by 10–45% (Gössling, 2013). Tourist education on how and why they should use less water while traveling is critical. As advocated by Becken (2014), tourism operators have an obligation to contribute to responsible water stewardship and site-level strategic planning for responsible water usage. Water contamination can be reduced by proper treatment of wastewater, using biodegradable chemicals, using a limited amount of fertilizers and preventing their runoff into bodies of water.

Income inequality and tourism

“Income inequality is a major factor restricting global sustainable development” (Zhang, 2021, p. 312) and income equality is impacted by tourism through the price effect and earnings effect (Fang et al., 2021). The earnings effect is defined as the impact of tourism resulting from the most low-skilled workers living in lower-income households (Fang et al., 2021). The price effect is defined as the increase in the prices of accommodation and cultural and recreational services due to increased tourism consumption (Fang et al., 2021).

Lee (2009) conducted a study to assess the level of earning inequality due to tourism with reference to personal income. He compared counties that rely on tourism as the main source of income from 1990–2000 to those where tourism was not a top source of income. The results showed that income inequality in tourism services-dependent counties is greater than those areas not depending on tourism, and that the rate of income inequality is increasing faster than in non-tourism-reliant locations. Disparity rates are even higher in places that attract high-income tourists (Lee, 2009) and the low wages of tourism jobs are responsible for this earning disparity. The owners of businesses related to tourism often have high incomes and wealth, while those working in the shops, hotels and restaurants earn low wages and this creates income inequality.

Another issue with income equality is the limited capacity of tourist sites. As important tourism destinations reach their maximum carrying capacity, one way to reduce demand is to increase prices. Butler (2020) cites the need to limit the number of tourists by charging an entrance fee, so that a destination does not exceed its carrying capacity. If there is to be sustainable tourism, the capacity at many tourist destinations will have to be limited and one of the challenges here is the issue of accessibility. If price is used as the means to reduce capacity, then those who have less income may not have the means to access tourist sites. The limiting of access to not only private entities, but also taxpayer-funded spaces is increasing as it seems that tourism is increasing the dichotomy between those that have and those that do not. For example, Disney World is one of the largest attractions worldwide, attracting more than 58 million people each year (Farkas, 2022). Throughout its history, children of all walks of life and cultures have been welcomed to the “Happiest Place on Earth.” Yet, recent price increases have triggered a discussion about affordability and access to this much loved destination. Kelleher (2022) described the price hikes as “a sign of Disney's bullish outlook on the back of an outstanding recovery.” This indicates there is sufficient demand for ticket prices to be $1,600 or more for a family of four to spend three days visiting Disney's parks. When one adds hotel, meals, travel and souvenir costs, the trip can easily exceed $3,000, putting it beyond the reach of many households.

It is the case that the private sector traditionally looks to optimize revenue, but public taxpayer funded tourist attraction policies can also lead to the monetization of access. For example, in 2020, authorities in Peru made significant changes to the way tourists can interact with Machu Picchu (Whitt, 2020). New restricted hours, accessibility, traffic flow and limitations of freedom of movement have spurned new tour guide services. If you wanted to see all the highlights of Machu Picchu such as the Sundial, Temple of the Condor and Temple of the Sun, you could hire a tour guide to ensure you get access to all the important sites, for a price (Whitt, 2020). These changes have been increased over the last two years with new guidelines for 2023 even further limiting access to the heritage site. New rules limit access to just 3,500 visitors per day who must be accompanied by a tour guide with no re-entry. Each ticket provides a one-hour tour, limited to one pre-ordained trail called a “circuit” through the site, with pricing for entry to Machu Picchu added to the cost of hiring the tour guide (Inca Trail Machu, 2022). While these rules were put in place to help protect the future of this historical site, it also creates barriers to entry that are difficult to overcome for those with the least discretionary income. The cost of visiting Machu Picchu is more than an entry ticket and tour guide, it includes multiple transportation costs, lodging, food and beverage and technological access and an understanding of the complex rules and guidelines imposed on visitors. In fact, Machu Picchu is quickly becoming a destination for the wealthy and an outcome of income inequality is that a growing number of tourist destinations are becoming inaccessible to low-income families.

A further outcome of income inequality at tourism destinations is that residents are often aware of the income gap between themselves and tourists. Wanting to emulate the lifestyle of visitors but unable to, can contribute to an increase in petty crime against the tourists. To limit this, tourism publications generally recommend that tourists do not wear expensive jewelry and watches and secure their wallets when venturing out into the community. In further mitigate risk, all-inclusive resorts often put walls around the property, thereby restricting the range of possible interactions between tourists and residents. This can also limit the benefits of tourism for much of the community while depriving tourists of opportunities to experience local culture.

Mitigating income inequality from tourism

A challenge for tourism is to reduce its role in promoting income inequality and improving the wages paid to entry-level positions is an important first step. As entry costs to tourism destinations increase, it is important to look for ways to facilitate accessibility for those with low incomes. For example, some museums provide free entrance for local residents on certain days of the month and national parks in the USA schedule five days each year when entrance to the park is free of charge. Among many other examples, major league baseball in the USA offers a limited number of World Series tickets through a lottery, thus giving most the hope of attending a game. Managers of tourism destinations face a difficult challenge. They must limit capacity to ensure the sustainability of the destination, charge a fee that is high enough to cover maintenance and, in some cases, restore the destination and do what they can to make the destination accessible. The challenge is to do this while paying employees a good wage and providing opportunities for all to enjoy the destination.

At the property-level, organizations should aim to ensure fair wages and affordable housing availability for lower-skilled employees to help ensure socially sustainable tourism development, whether in a developing or developed economy – regionally or internationally. Additionally, local entrepreneurship and competition should be encouraged. Larger organizations could promote local artists, restaurants, attractions and services by assisting marketing efforts, purchasing local products (i.e. artisans' goods for retail; local produce for restaurants), supporting authenticity and helping to sustain traditions and promoting symbiotic relationships such as short supply chains.

Tourism staff shortages

Major tourism industry publications and organizations have highlighted a growing concern relating to decreased labor pools for the tourism industry. Further, the labor shortage crisis has contributed to a significant loss of revenue (Kamal-Chaoui, 2022; Walters, 2022) and overcoming the labor shortage is arguably the biggest challenge facing the travel industry (McCarthy, 2022). According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, this threat will not be controlled quickly or easily and the future of the tourism industry: is “contingent on its ability to solve this issue” (Jus et al., 2022). “The worsening labor shortage challenge will likely continue for some years due to an imbalance in labor supply/demand” (Kwok, 2022, p. 3929).

Given the dramatic decline in tourism during the height of the pandemic, 36% of the tourism workforce in the USA lost their jobs and internationally almost 19% of workers lost their jobs (Jus et al., 2022). As the industry recovered, many who lost their jobs did not return as they had found alternative jobs that paid more and offered better benefits than the jobs they had lost (Jus et al., 2022; Kamal-Chaoui, 2022). To further illustrate this point, a travel company in Vietnam that decreased staffing levels to survive during the pandemic is now losing 40–50% of its potential business because it is unable to find staff to meet the demand (Bizzhub, 2022). In Maine, resort restaurants that used to be open seven days a week were only open four to five days a week in 2022 because of staff shortages. Further, hotels are operating with closed floors as not enough employees are available to fully staff the hotel, while limited-service hotels which used to have daily maid service, now provide maid service after the third day. One does not have to look far to see the lingering impact of the labor shortage. The labor shortage has not only limited the income available to companies but has also resulted in reduced customer satisfaction. Negative guest comments reflecting their dissatisfaction with service and performance on social media are evidence of this (Morosan and Bowen, 2022).

Mitigating tourism labor shortages

A Travel and Tourism Council report suggests addressing the threat of staff shortages by facilitating flexible working conditions such as hybrid and remote options or shorter working hours; developing a skilled workforce and training to promote opportunities, attract talent to improve perception of the industry, provide competitive benefits; improve working conditions to encourage productive and meaningful work and leverage technological and digital solutions (Jus et al., 2022). Kamal-Chaoui (2022) suggests that work and working conditions must be made more attractive to workers with fast onboarding, career development opportunities and flexibility. While Morosan and Bowen (2022) point to the use of technology to reduce the number of employees required to offer quality service.

Tourism gentrification

Tourism gentrification is when tourists and tourism businesses are part of the gentrification process, displacing residents and businesses from their neighborhoods (González-Pérez and Novo-Malvárez, 2021). The impact of tourism gentrification can be seen around the world, regardless of the country's level of economic development as urban areas with tourism appeal are targeted (González-Pérez and Novo-Malvárez, 2021). Some tourism destinations affected by gentrification in the USA include New York City (Sheivachman, 2017), the Old Town of Parma (González-Pérez and Novo-Malvárez, 2021), Barcelona (De Bourmont, 2015) and New Orleans (Gotham, 2005).

In the Old Town of Palma on the island of Majorca, an attractive tourist destination due to its historical and heritage significance, the gentrification process started with the arrival of luxury boutique hotels and short-stay holiday rentals, displacing residents (González-Pérez and Novo-Malvárez, 2021). The rise of short-term rentals has also led to increased house prices and evictions and a direct correlation can be seen between housing prices and the increased presence of Airbnb and other rental properties (González-Pérez and Novo-Malvárez, 2021). These results are mirrored in New York City after the Great Recession with more than double the number of tourists from 1990 (25.3 million) to 2015 (60.3 million), the areas with the most intense rent increases from 2004–2014 were also the neighborhoods attracting the most rapid tourism development: Williamsburg, Central Harlem and the Lower East Side (Sheivachman, 2017). Rent increases because of tourism reflect the profitable and lucrative nature of hotels that displace not only residential land use, but also commercial and industrial land use. Instead of building more affordable housing and office space with the accompanying local services and retail, landowners choose to partner with hospitality groups rather than with other industries (Sheivachman, 2017).

The city centers of many European cities are attractive to tourists due to their cultural heritage. One popular European destination, Lisbon, has experienced a growth in hotels and other forms of tourist lodging, pushing locals out of the city center (Lopes et al., 2019). The ironic effect of this form of tourism gentrification is that many tourists want to live like locals as the tourists take over: the shops, restaurants and bars that catered to locals are forced to leave due to increased property values and the culture of the community is changed. The only way to maintain the culture of a picturesque and colorful neighborhood that attracts tourists is to maintain locals in the community (Lopes et al., 2019).

Resident displacement for tourism not only occurs in urban areas. The residents of the El Portal Trailer Park in the Yosemite Valley of California were evicted by the National Park Service in 2022 (Kohlruss, 2022). Many of the residents had worked or currently work for the Park Service and have lived in this location for multiple generations. The land is being converted to a campground for public and administrative use by 2024, and there is speculation that it will also be used as a staging ground for other Yosemite projects (Kohlruss, 2022).

Recently problems with tourism gentrification have been exacerbated by the rapid growth of peer-to-peer accommodation. The growth in this area has arisen as people rent space in their house or vacation home when it was not being used. Other examples include businesses purchasing apartments to rent to tourists, thus forcing residents to move and increasing the rents for those who stay as property values increase. As businesses move in to cater to the tourists, local businesses can be forced to move or close because of rent increases. It has been argued that one of the attributes of a tourist destination is friendly and welcoming residents (Bowen and Sotomayor, 2022). When residents are shut out of the benefits of tourism and/or experience negative changes to their lifestyle, the warm welcome from residents is lost.

Mitigating gentrification from tourism

To reduce the effects of gentrification, destination management organizations need to look at ways of balancing the quality of life of residents with the increased economic activity that tourism creates. Such actions include working with cruise lines to get them to use tours operated by locals and small businesses, promoting local businesses and establishing rent-controlled retail outlets that are available to residents as well as public spaces available to locals. For example, Kennebunk, Maine a popular summer and fall tourist destination provides space on weekends for local artisans to sell their goods and a separate area for locals to sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods and other agricultural products.