The Unsustainability
of Tourism Promotion
Eric C. Ewert
Professor and Chair, Department of Geography, Environment & Sustainability at Weber State University, Ogden, Utah
https://www.weber.edu/geography/EricEwert.html
Photo courtesy of Utah Office of Tourism.
Montanari, Armando. (2020)
Experience The Mighty 5: Utah's National Parks
By March 1, 2013, the video had been viewed nearly 1 million times!
Who pays for all of this tourism advertising? We do. Every time you do a tourist thing like rent a car, book a hotel room or pay sales tax on 21 tourism-related industries, you pay into a fund that goes to the Utah Office of Tourism to encourage even more people to do the same thing. Since 2005, it has spent more than $100 million marketing Utah. That’s correct: $100 million.
Utah State Park visitation has grown from 3.7 million in 2014 to 13 million already this year (June 2024). National Park visitors have doubled.
The same is true for Utah’s ski resorts. The 2022-2023 ski season shattered the records for ski visits (7.1 million and a 22% increase) and money spent by out-of-state ski visitors ($2 billion). “Despite the gush in skier and snowboarder visits, the number of recreational jobs, including for resort workers, remains roughly the same as it was in 2015-16 when Utah saw 2.6 million fewer skier visits.”
Ewert, Eric C., “We’re still suffering the mighty consequences of Utah’s “Mighty 5” campaign Editorial, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 13, 2024.
“Overtourism” goes far beyond crowds.
Environmental Impact: Tourism contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, air, soil, and water pollution, and habitat destruction. A 2018 study found that global tourism accounted for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Economic Disparities: While tourism can bring economic benefits, these are often unevenly distributed. Large corporations may profit more than local businesses and workers, and the influx of tourists can drive up prices, making it difficult for locals to afford housing, basic goods, and services.
Cultural Erosion: The commercialization of local cultures to cater to tourists can lead to the loss of traditional practices and values. This can result in a homogenized experience that lacks authenticity.
Visitor Use Management, Yellowstone and Zion NP, 2018, 2022
Summit County, Colorado: Breckenridge, Keystone, Silverthorne, Copper Mountain Ski Areas
Erica Lee, 2022, 200+ respondent survey.
Of course, it’s not just people that are impacted.
Source: Sabo (2012).
Rajaonson and Tanguay, 2022
World Economic Forum, 2023
Rajaonson and Tanguay, 2022
Negative environmental impacts reported on 19 Canadian destinations between March 2020 and September 2021.
Montanari, Armando. (2020)
https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/parks-outdoors/glen-canyon-lake-powell
References:
Montanari, Armando. (2020). Covid-19 as an opportunity to tackle the phenomenon of overtourism in European historic centres: the case of Rome. Il Capitale Culturale: Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage. 285-305. 10.13138/2039-2362/2542.
Lee, Erica, 2002. Weber State Geography Senior Seminar Research, “Rapid Growth and Tourism in Moab, Utah.
Utah Division of Natural Resources, State Parks, 2024: https://stateparks.utah.gov/resources/park-visitation-data/
Ewert, Eric C., “We’re still suffering the mighty consequences of Utah’s “Mighty 5” campaign Editorial, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 13, 2024. https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2024/05/13/opinion-were-still-suffering/
Utah: Life Elevated: https://www.visitutah.com/
National Park Service Data Sets and Tools:https://www.nps.gov/subjects/science/science-data.htm
National Geographic, 2023, What’s the problem with overtourism? ttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/what-is-overtourism
Rajaonson and Tanguay, 2022, An exploratory analysis of the negative environmental impacts of pandemic tourism on Canadian destinations: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666957922000398#f0005
World Economic Forum, 2023: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/08/temperatures-tourism-climate-impact/
Drugova, T., Kim, M.-K & Jakus, P. M. (2021). Marketing, congestion, and demarketing in Utah’s National Parks. Tourism Economics, 27(8), 1759-1778. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816620939722