Tourist traps: Global landmarks shut down due to overcrowding
Nature, monuments, and the lives of residents all suffer when tourism in a given place starts to get out of control. Often, it is the residents themselves who sound the alarm that something is wrong and change is needed. Currently, we are witnessing protests in Mallorca and Tenerife. However, some places have already given up on tourists. And it's for good.
6:32 PM EDT, July 28, 2024
One such place is Uluru, the sacred mountain of Australian Aborigines, known to many as Ayers Rock. The mountain, with its characteristic reddish color, is a special place for the local Anangu tribe. In 2019, at the indigenous people's request, it was closed to climbers.
This is our home. Please, do not climb it - TVN24 quotes the sign at the base of the mountain.
Tourists brought fungi and mold. European caves closed to them
Tourists are no longer allowed into the Spanish cave of Altamira or the French cave of Lascaux. Both caves house rock drawings believed to have been created during the late Paleolithic period, from 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. Unfortunately, the caves' popularity meant tourists started visiting them, bringing in higher humidity levels, warmth, and carbon dioxide. Altamira was closed to tourism in 2001.
Lascaux was discovered in 1940 but was already closed to visitors in 1963. The reason? Tourism caused fungi and mold to appear, and the rock paintings began to fade.
Today, tourists can visit replicas of the Altamira and Lascaux caves.
The heavenly beach and a down-to-earth problem
For Thai authorities, Maya Bay beach was a tourist magnet. Known from the movie "The Beach," it attracted thousands of people worldwide each year. This started to become very burdensome, especially for nature. In 2018, the Thai authorities decided to close Maya Bay, whose coral reef was utterly destroyed by the excess number of tourists.
Tourist traffic returned in 2022 but with restrictions. From 10 AM to 4 PM, tourists can only be on the beach for up to an hour. Additionally, a maximum of eight boats can dock at the pier.
At the beginning of this tourist season, residents in places like Barcelona, Granada, Seville, and Mallorca started protesting. Meanwhile, protesting residents in Tenerife carried a banner with the slogan, "The Canary Islands have their limit."
In recent weeks, an absurd situation occurred on the Greek island of Santorini, where more tourists arrived than the number of residents. Local authorities had to ask the latter to stay home to avoid paralyzing the island.
