Photo by Connor Mollison
For the past couple of months many tourist hotspots have had a breather from the constant flow of visitors they regularly receive. From the Venice canals to the Himalayas, some of the most famous locations across the globe are seeing a dramatic improvement in their ecology and there’s hope that these will not be lost once lockdowns ease.
Closer to home, Scottish tourism industry chiefs have pledged to take a cautious approach when promoting various parts of the country once lockdown restrictions are eased. It is hoped that this will ensure that remote beauty spots are not overwhelmed with an influx of visitors once people are able to travel and explore Scotland. Writing on his blog, VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead said:
“Creating meaningful connections between tourists and hosts is one of the characteristics of responsible tourism and tourism is a major part of the experience economy.
“It is very much the case that tourism will be part of the solution rather than the problem for a sustainable and successful future.”
For the first time ever the Stonehenge Summer Solstice event will be live streamed, and people planning to visit the site during this event have been discouraged from doing so. It is possible that livestreams of popular sites could become a regular thing in the future to protect them from over-tourism.