Overtourism: what solutions are there to combat peaks in visitor numbers at natural sites?
- Affluences
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
The most famous natural sites are often saturated with visitors, leading to a host of problems that local communities have to deal with (environmental issues, erosion and impact on local flora and fauna, impact on the peace and quiet of local residents, pollution, incivility, etc.). While it is necessary to regulate visitor numbers at these highly frequented sites, it is also important to do so in a way that limits the impact on local economic actors who depend on tourism at these sites for their livelihood.
Following the example of the bill passed in November 2019 by the French Senate*, which gives local authorities greater autonomy to regulate peaks in visitor numbers at natural sites under certain conditions, several solutions related to visitor management can yield very satisfactory results in a number of respects.
Crowd management
Combined with advanced technological solutions, crowd management is common practice in shopping centres, transport systems, museums, etc. It allows for real-time measurement of visitor numbers at a site, analysis of its performance and assessment of future visitor numbers using predictive algorithms that take into account not only past visitor numbers but also the impact of external factors such as the weather, events, promotions, etc.
Crowd management will therefore make it possible to better regulate visitor flows of all kinds, communicate information to them in real time, and provide visitor forecasts in order to prevent overcrowding. It also allows site managers to better organise visitor reception based on crowd levels and plan the necessary logistics for cleaning, signage, information, etc.
Applied to the issue of peak visitor numbers at natural sites, it can be very useful for smoothing visitor flows over the course of a day, week or longer. This may concern the site itself, but also access points (boats, roads, bridges, etc.) or nearby car parks.
Measuring visitor numbers at a natural site
While measuring visitor numbers (or overcrowding) in an enclosed space is easy with a few suitable sensors, it is less straightforward when it comes to open spaces that are very large and far from any electricity or network access. Measuring visitor numbers on a hiking trail, for example, will never be very reliable, as hikers' mobile phones are not always connected to Wi-Fi or even switched on.
To assess site traffic more accurately, you can opt for video sensors with built-in artificial intelligence, positioned at access points or car parks. These will allow you to count more accurately the number of cars and the number of people in each vehicle.
There are different types of outdoor sensors, depending on the characteristics of the site to be scanned.
The Marseille City Council, for example, set up video sensors during an experiment to measure beach traffic in real time. These sensors are positioned high up on the beaches themselves. The aim of this system was to predict the number of cleaning staff required and to communicate the very high number of beachgoers in summer to locals and tourists visiting Marseille.
At the Sixt-fer à cheval site, it was the car parks providing access to the site that were equipped, providing valuable information on occupancy rates to the various local tourist offices.
Once the data has been successfully captured, all that remains is to analyse it in order to make decisions, inform, organise, etc.
Forecasting and communicating visitor numbers
Forecasting visitor numbers is very important when regulating high visitor numbers at natural sites. It enables local authorities to organise visitor reception based on the expected numbers, but also to communicate this information to visitors, the authorities managing the site and the organisations promoting it.
Visitor numbers forecasts can also be used to plan for parking facilities, sufficient numbers of litter bins and their collection, and even appropriate signage to educate, inform and deter if necessary.
Regulating overtourism through visitor numbers communication
Measuring and anticipating visitor numbers at a site also allows this information to be communicated. This is very useful for smoothing visitor flows without losing visitors. Visitors will be all the more satisfied with their visit if they don't feel like they're on a motorway at rush hour (which is a shame when visiting a natural site)!
There are several ways to communicate visitor numbers:
The Affluences app: downloaded by over a million users in Europe, this free app gives visitors real-time visitor numbers for partner sites. It also provides traffic forecasts for the coming hours or days. This allows visitors to plan their trip and choose a more suitable time slot for their visit. Using simple APIs, this data can also be communicated on the website of the site in question.
Tourist offices and other tour operators: with real-time information available via the Affluences platform, tourist office advisors can suggest itineraries to visitors that take into account peak visitor numbers at sites, so as to spread out visits throughout the day or even the week. In the case of the Sixt-fer-à-cheval site mentioned above, sensors are installed in the car parks and provide tourist offices in the region with real-time information on visitor numbers at the site. This is invaluable data for guiding visitors to other sites and spreading out visitor flows.
Display panels: in order to spread out visitor numbers, you can also communicate this information (in particular the site's ‘occupancy’ rate) on digital displays at the entrance to sites or further upstream (before visitors embark on access roads), so as to discourage them as much as possible when the site is saturated or overcrowded.
Reservations to combat overcrowding and overtourism
Finally, where possible, it is a good idea to set up a reservation system with a capacity limit and an incentive policy for slots that are normally less busy.
The Calanques National Park in Marseille announced this summer that visitors would now have to book online to visit the park and that registration would close once 85% of the capacity had been reached. The remaining tickets will be reserved for last-minute bookings.
Crowd management, if done well using reliable and effective solutions, is a major asset in the fight against peak visitor numbers at natural sites, and in any case in the fight to preserve the environment and the exceptional beauty of these sites.
Affluences can help you implement a crowd management solution, with or without a booking system, to limit and regulate overcrowding at your natural sites without disrupting the local economy.
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