DoughnutANZ
Ka whati te tai ka kai te tōreapango
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 & 2028.
Tourism represents about 20% of Aotearoa New Zealand's exports, a significant proportion. Spain has perhaps an even greater proportion.
In ANZ now, like many other countries, there is close to nil international tourists. As a result local tourists are enjoying visiting popular parts of ANZ without huge crowds of overseas tourists.
This, in turn, has sparked a conversation within ANZ about if this is a good time for a tourism reset. Instead of hoards of backpackers and wild camping van tourists we are wondering if going more upmarket might be good for ANZ overall and might enable a greater contribution to lowering carbon outputs by reducing tourist numbers and journeys.
I am wondering if a similar conversation is going on within Spain at the moment?
If it is then this is very relevant to future Camino planning as most current pilgrims are closer to being backpackers than they are to upmarket visitors.
I am not interested in discussing the pros and cons of backpackers vs up-market tourists. Nor am I interested in your political opinions. So, possibly this question needs to be answered by people who live in Spain.
If there is currently a wider trans-EU conversation in this vein then perhaps residents of other EU countries could answer if their own country is having this conversation.
As an example, pre-Covid there were conversations in places like Barcelona about the possibility of limiting tourist numbers and certainly there were similar conversations in Venice, Italy.
What say you, Spanish and possibly EU residents?
Obviously, people whose current business model is based around large numbers of backpacker type tourists are going to have strong opinions and so, if possible, I would like to exclude those opinions. Like I said, I am more interested in if the conversation is happening than the pros and cons of an actual change.
In ANZ now, like many other countries, there is close to nil international tourists. As a result local tourists are enjoying visiting popular parts of ANZ without huge crowds of overseas tourists.
This, in turn, has sparked a conversation within ANZ about if this is a good time for a tourism reset. Instead of hoards of backpackers and wild camping van tourists we are wondering if going more upmarket might be good for ANZ overall and might enable a greater contribution to lowering carbon outputs by reducing tourist numbers and journeys.
I am wondering if a similar conversation is going on within Spain at the moment?
If it is then this is very relevant to future Camino planning as most current pilgrims are closer to being backpackers than they are to upmarket visitors.
I am not interested in discussing the pros and cons of backpackers vs up-market tourists. Nor am I interested in your political opinions. So, possibly this question needs to be answered by people who live in Spain.
If there is currently a wider trans-EU conversation in this vein then perhaps residents of other EU countries could answer if their own country is having this conversation.
As an example, pre-Covid there were conversations in places like Barcelona about the possibility of limiting tourist numbers and certainly there were similar conversations in Venice, Italy.
What say you, Spanish and possibly EU residents?
Obviously, people whose current business model is based around large numbers of backpacker type tourists are going to have strong opinions and so, if possible, I would like to exclude those opinions. Like I said, I am more interested in if the conversation is happening than the pros and cons of an actual change.
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