The massification of tourism in destinations is inevitable, said the secretary-general of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), Zurab Pololikashvili, calling for coexistence with it and for efforts to manage it in the most appropriate way.
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pa?s, the Georgian-born Pololikashvili, who is looking forward to his third term as secretary-general of UN Tourism, appears convinced that tourism will continue to grow around the world and that this is inevitable. “We must be prepared to live with mass tourism because the numbers predict this,” he said.
However, he warns that proper management of tourism flows is necessary to avoid problems such as overexploitation of natural resources and loss of authenticity of destinations. “I do not believe in barriers, as tourism cannot be limited, or to decide which tourists can and cannot travel. What destinations can do is manage entries and exits according to the specificities of each destination,” he said.
Regarding short-term rentals, which are one of the main causes of tensions in popular tourist destinations due to problems created in housing, the UN Tourism Secretary-General stressed that we should not ban them but regulate them, close down illegal ones, and analyze each city case individually.
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Photo source: UN Tourism
