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Random Contemplations

Overtourism Solutions |Be A Tourist In Your Own City!

What is Travel Bug or Wanderlust? Wanderlust or Travel Bug has become one of the most popular words on blogging platforms and social media like Facebook and Instagram! Just run an online search and you’ll know! Is this wanderlust fueled by social media because we are increasingly exposed to the pictures and posts of travelers?

Over-Tourism and Wanderlust

Is Travel Bug a form of escapism? Many people have quit their jobs to travel and blog. Is it because we are all tired of things around us and we are looking for some change? Many people say they want to travel because they want to experience the world.

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We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, and other souls. Anais Nin

Overtourism-The Causes

Is Wanderlust fuelling over-tourism?

There are a couple of reasons why there is a rise in tourism leading to pollution, traffic jams, and a backlash from the local residents. One of the recent examples is Venice and Prague. The local residents are unhappy with the rise in rents because the residences are being offered to the tourists at a good profit, this is unaffordable for the locals. In many cities in Europe, locals are unable to find affordable houses for rent because of the same reasons. There are many reasons for Overtourism. One of the reasons is that there has been a general rise in travel. Another reason cited by some travel experts is the rise in social media use. Instagram pictures and stories are fuelling travel. The younger generation doesn’t want to hoard money and prefers to spend on experiences. Travel is one of the most popular experiences accessible to all.

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Foreign tourists enjoying the beautiful sunrise at Jal Mahal, Jaipur

The following are the reasons for over-tourism:

  • The greater awareness and information about tourist places among people
  • The flaunting of travel on social media via photos and videos
  • The rise in disposable incomes
  • Increase in promotion of travel destinations by tourism boards
  • “Now or Never” mindset which believes in instant gratification
  • A large number of travel options in terms of travel companies and modes of transport
  • A variety of options to book travel online at the click of a button
  • Pent-up demand due to pandemic years
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Foreign Tourists at one of the palaces in Rajasthan

Over-Tourism Solutions

A lot of people advocate traveling in the off-season as an Overtourism solution. In my opinion, this can be one solution but we need to look away from the popular tourist destinations. Traveling in your own city can also mitigate some of the Overtourism issues.

Sometimes we want to travel but commitments and responsibilities tie us down. So what do we do? For a change, try to become a traveler in your own city or places nearby! It’s called backyard traveling. You’ll be amazed to discover the places that you never knew existed even though you have been passing through the street, every day! In spite of living in Jaipur for years, I never ventured inside the iconic  Hawa Mahal, till recently! I revisited popular tourist places in Jaipur like Amer Fort, Nahargarh Fort, Gaitore, and Jaipur City Palace.

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Exploring backyard

There are many offbeat places to explore like Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh, Patrika Gate, and even local markets in Jaipur.

Just change your perspective. Become a tourist. That’s what I do too sometimes, by donning a look of a tourist and exploring my city. It’s fun when the street vendors approach me to sell a Rajasthani puppet or ethnic printed shirts, thinking I’m a tourist.

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Exploring my own city! Backyard traveling
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Offbeat tourist attraction in Amer- Panna Meena Kund, Jaipur

I have chronicled one of such incidents in this post – Dholak Seller in Sirehdyodi Bazar Jaipur

If you don’t have tourist or historic places in your city, there’s something else you can try. Hit the street and interact with people like street vendors like flower sellers or less privileged people. You’ll gain insights into the lives of people and life, in general. There’s so much life around us that has escaped our attention. We are so engrossed in the routines that we miss most of the things around us.

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Street scene from Jaipur- A Flower Seller

When we travel our mindset is different, we are free from the daily grind and therefore, we notice so many new things. This makes travel interesting. Try to explore things around you, and get ready to be surprised without leaving your city! Become a backyard traveler! I’m sure exploring your own city or surroundings, will enrich your life. What do you think?

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From the street of Jaipur -Milk Seller

Overtourism EXAMPLES?

Overtourism has been plaguing many cities across the world with a sudden increase in population due to the massive influx of tourists. It causes problems & inconveniences for the residents and the authorities. Traffic jams and long lines are common outside popular tourist places. For example, in the city of Venice, Italy the local residents are around 55,000 but on peak days the tourist arrival is two to three times this number. In Jaipur, the effects of over-tourism are evident when the number of visitors to Amer Fort reaches more than 15,000. Places like Johari Bazaar become chaotic with traffic jams.

johari bazaar traffic jam

Overtourism Destinations

Some of the popular tourist destinations which suffer from over-tourism are Venice, Amsterdam, Bruges, Rome, Barcelona, and Paris in Europe. In India, Shimla, Nainital, Dharamshala, and Mussorie suffer from Overtourism.

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Exploring the offbeat locations and views

We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.

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This post appears as a part of the weekly photo challenge Wanderlust.

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112 thoughts on “Overtourism Solutions |Be A Tourist In Your Own City!”

  1. It’s defo very special to have Jaipur as your home town though!! But in truth my most memorable weekends are those where I hand local in London as there’s always so many discoveries to make close to home.

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  3. Sometimes it is not even about a tourist atractions. It is great to go off the track and take the side alley. You ll probably experience real city and people, not just highlights but true life. Experiences like we had in Africa may happen all over the world, so everyone who wants to explore should be cautious, but in the other hand it shouldn’t stop you. Just trust your feelings and ur gonna be ok.

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  4. Nice article. I would love to visit Jaipur. I’m sure there are many people who dream about visiting NYC, and it is right on my doorstep. Traveling your backyard is one the best ways to afford travel. Sometimes it is fun to do “touristy” things, and sometimes it is fun to find off the radar places in your own area.

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  6. Interesting. But I think a lot of us also just want to physically move, an ancient transient instinct to migrate, to keep moving. Much as I would want to, can’t get myself to look deeper into my own city… I guess its years of conditioning

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    1. Very interesting point. I think we all like to escape from the daily grind as well. Migration? That’s true too. I can say for Jaipur because there’s lots to explore.same may not be true for every city. 😃

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  7. I enjoyed reading your post. I more recently became a “tourist in my own city”. It was a lot of fun to do all of the crazy silly tourist things in my town. From brew cycles touring local breweries, Japanese style karaoke or even jet boats.

    While these things are fun, my travel bug has me saving up to explore the world in 22 months. Maybe we will end up in your backyard. 🙂

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  11. A wonderful post.. we need to do more of this as there’s so much to explore around us that we just ignore or miss.. its true that beauty lies in every corner..
    Btw I absolutely Love the milk seller pic..speaks a lot..

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    1. True, Joyla. I guess in the end it all boils down to our interest. I’m happy that you liked this post and pictures. Hope to see you around. 🙂

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  13. My son and I live in/near Branson, MO (live entertainment capital of the world, or so they say) and we always act as tourists in our own city! Except we know the back roads and shortcuts so it makes it way better! Great advice!

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  18. My partner and I are Americans living in Britain, and maybe it’s because we’re outsiders it’s easy to, once in a while, declare ourselves tourists and see the places we know with new eyes. It’s wonderful.

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  19. Insightful post. So many times we get so consumed in our day to day or our dreams of where we COULD be that we don’t allow ourselves the opportunity to embrace the place and time we are in. Again Beautiful photos, beautiful reminder.

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  20. Hi,
    I was going to be a travel blogger but I blog about blogging tips now. I travel often. Escapism? My husband loves cruising. I am a history teacher so we travel to the places I teach which is exciting for me.
    I met you at Suzie’s blog party. Maybe you can check out my blog if you need any blogging tips. That’s what I blog about. I also have blog parties like Suzie.
    Janice

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    1. Thanks Janice! happy to hear about you and your blog. History teacher? that sounds exciting! BTW, I did check out your blog. it is a great resource! Is there any other way to subscribe to your blog apart from email?

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      1. Hi Arv,
        Thank you for your interest in becoming a permanent reader. I send emails three times a week. If you use UnRoll.me, you can decide when the emails come into your box– they come in “rolled” so they are not so intrusive.
        People do subscribe to a person’s RSS feed but you’d need an RSS reader for that like Feedly. Thank you for the compliments on my blog. I would love to have your readership.
        Janice

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I was also going to suggest going to WordPress.com. You can go to Subscriptions Manage and decide how often you want to receive emails. I’m excited about our connection. I hope it works out.
        Janice

        Liked by 1 person

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