COVID-19, TOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITY Opinion blog, by Jennifer Hernandez

Beach and sun. Thousands of people lying on the sand. Watching the coming and going of the waves. But the breaking of the waves can’t be heard. There is noise in the background because of the thousands of people. People talking, kids shouting, young people listening to loud music. It would be great if one could swim but no one else fits in there. At the end of the day it begins to chill and the beachgoers are little by little backing out, leaving behind them their garbage in different spots of the beach.

Crowded beach in Valencia

Venice. The canals are congested. The water is dirty. Only cruise ships and thousands of tourists roaming the streets can be heard. There’s almost no place more for another tourist. A cruise is about to enter the canals of the city, but there’s a manifestation. The population is not happy at all. There is no more space for them. They are driving the population out, they are shattering their home. Venice is turned into a simple touristic scenario in which the resident’s welfare matters no more.

Let’s expose another scenario: Thailand. Hundreds of tourists are coming to the wonderful beaches of this country in order to delight in their waters and contemplate their beauty. Every single tourist has to do one of the most popular excursions: diving to see the coral reef. Everybody loves it. But after thousands and thousands of similar excursions, with a large number of tourists looking at the corals at the same time, we find a trampled coral reef. Its beauty is gone. They have destroyed it.

I could give hundreds of examples of similar scenarios. I believe in tourism, I consider that it is a powerful tool for the understanding between cultures, to give value to other people and places, it is the engine of many economies (of the Spanish one too), it generates direct and indirect jobs and, today, tourism is also a necessity for many people. I think tourism is very beneficial, and I believe it fervently. But this doesn’t mean that we have to cover our eyes and pretend to be blind. Tourism has also a dark side.

At this very moment we are seeing with our own eyes the consequences of our actions. The Covid-19 has locked us at home, it has made the “engine” stop, and suddenly we have begun to hear spectacular news, which we never thought would be achievable. First, pollution in China dropped dramatically. The crystal-clear waters resurfaced in the canals of Venice, even the dolphins have dared to take a walk on the canals. Little by little, the pollution index of many countries has decreased. In Madrid “the beret” disappeared and it was possible to admire the mountains again.

This is just a reflection. Surely thousands of people have also reflected on this. I think it is very important to remove our blindfold. Tourism is wonderful, but what is the purpose of tourism if we ruin tourist resources and destinations? Years ago, we all would have liked to visit Venice. Today it is so crowded that many people lose the enthusiasm of visiting the city. It is very necessary that we, as consumers, become aware. I know that the behavior of many touristic companies is blameworthy as well. But if there is no demand, there will be no supply. If we demand sustainable tourism, there will be no choice but to offer it.

Until the nineties, almost nobody had heard the word "sustainability". Today we know that the future - and not just the future of tourism - will be sustainable, or it will not be.