Overtourism: what can we do? with Dr Martha Honey and Kelsey Frenkiel

Dr. Martha Honey & Kelsey Frenkiel are my guest on Episode 130 of Inside Ideas with Marc Buckley.  Martha Honey is CEO of Responsible Travel Consulting and co-founder and former Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), based in Washington, DC. Her previous books include Cruise Tourism in the Caribbean: Selling Sunshine (Routledge Press, 2019), Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? (Island Press, 1998 and 2008) and Ecotourism and Certification: Setting Standards in Practice (Island Press, 2002). She worked as a journalist for 20 years, based in Tanzania and Costa Rica. More at www.responsibletravelconsulting.com.   Kelsey Frenkiel is a Program Manager at CREST, where she manages research and consulting projects related to responsible travel, supports fundraising activities, and manages the internship program. Kelsey is also a freelance travel writer and researcher, having supported publications for National Geographic Traveler, The Washingtonian, and other outlets.  Before COVID-19 hit, overtourism was the biggest problem in the world of travel. Then, seemingly overnight, tourism nearly ceased. But as travel resumes, will we return to a world of overrun monuments, littered beaches, bumper-to-bumper traffic in national parks, and gridlocked city streets? Or can we create sustainable, healthy tourism centered on principles like equity, conservation, and good governance?  Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future (Publication Date: May 27, 2021), edited by Martha Honey, co-founder and former Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), and Kelsey Frenkiel, a Program Manager at CREST, charts a path toward tourism that is truly sustainable, focusing on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and prosperity. Bringing together tourism officials, city council members, travel journalists, consultants, scholars, and trade association members, this practical book explores the impacts of and solutions to overcrowding from a variety of perspectives.  After examining the causes and effects of overtourism, the book turns to management approaches in five distinct types of tourism destinations: historic cities; national parks and protected areas; World Heritage Sites; beaches and coastal communities; and destinations governed by regional and national authorities. Case studies are drawn from around the globe, from the Galapagos Islands to the Serengeti and from Big Sur, California, to Barcelona, Spain.    https://www.responsibletravel.org/