The Visitor Flow Management for Balanced Tourism Growth Workstream held its first meeting on 6 September 2024 to discuss the approaches being enacted to balance economic growth with environmental and social sustainability and visitor satisfaction. During this session, we discussed the challenges in influencing visitor behaviour, the effectiveness of DMO actions in driving change and the key outcomes that should be achieved through active collaboration.

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Key Challenges

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While many destinations are reacting to existing pressure, others are proactively adopting innovative management approaches. Addressing overtourism requires collaboration with all stakeholders, including local communities and businesses. However, in many cases, there is a need to first highlight why visitor management should be seen as a strategic priority, particularly when proactively managing the destination. There is also an aversion from businesses to reduce crowds due to the perceived economic impacts of tourism.

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Scientifically determining a destination's carrying capacity is therefore essential to effective visitor management, but requires a clear delineation of responsibility to ensure there is a coherent implementation plan. This entails data-driven approaches to destination management and an understanding of visitor patterns and areas of congestion. By combining diverse data sources, DMOs can gain valuable insights into the causes of overtourism and develop targeted solutions.

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Marketing also plays a crucial role in managing visitor flows by promoting less crowded areas and encouraging sustainable practices. However, there are also challenges in measuring campaign effectiveness, with metrics traditionally focused on impressions and maximising reach and limitations in linking sustainable behaviour to campaign exposure.

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Linked to this, social media platforms play a significant role in shaping travel trends and influencing visitor behaviour. While social media can be a powerful tool for promoting destinations, it can also contribute to overcrowding and unexpected surges in visitor numbers. Monitoring social media trends and social sentiment is thus key to DMOs adapting their marketing strategies accordingly to tailor messages for different target segments.

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Alongside these overarching challenges, nuanced considerations, such as the management of car parking facilities, must remain at the core of decision-making to contextualise destination-specific challenges. As visitors rely on private transportation, particularly when visiting rural areas, limited parking spaces can lead to congestion, environmental damage and a negative visitor experience. To address this issue, destinations are actively developing booking portals and open data platforms to provide transparency for visitors to plan their trips. Here is a short summary of some of the initiatives discussed during the inaugural Workshop session:

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1. Dolomiti Paganella, Italy: Launched the Future Lab to engage the community in sustainable development, including a new management policy for Lake Molveno with a focus on car parking booking.
2. Visit Skåne, Sweden: Developed the Uncrowded platform to monitor parking spaces and provide real-time information to visitors.
3. MarketingOost, Netherlands: Used data to understand visitor behaviour and develop targeted solutions to address overtourism.
4. Tourism VAN, Netherlands: Employed the Visitor Data Monitor and Drukteradar tool to inform crowd management and dispersal strategies.
5. Fáilte Ireland, Ireland: Conducted surveys and hotspot mapping, with a dedicated team identifying areas under pressure and creating management plans.
6. Vienna Tourist Board, Austria: Invested in digital solutions such as Ivie to assist travellers in planning their trips.
7. Marketing Greece, Greece: Worked reactively to address overtourism, focusing on infrastructure improvements and sustainability awareness.

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Next Steps

1. Best Practices Guide: A detailed overview of the visitor management approaches currently being undertaken by destinations and the key learning outcomes from their implementation. This will include an overview of the data sources and technological solutions that help destination management.
2. Carrying Capacity Framework: To develop a standardised framework for assessing destination carrying capacity, which will provide a consistent and comparable approach for informing decision-making. This framework will enable international benchmarking and a granular understanding of the different factors that influence carrying capacity.
3. Visitor Sentiment Mapping: To ensure that visitor management approaches align with the needs and preferences of different visitor segments, their acceptance levels to management solutions will be mapped to inform communication strategies and help DMOs tailor messaging to achieve a stronger impact.
4. AI-Assisted Visitor Management: To effectively manage visitor flows and minimise their impact on natural resources, a robust AI tool will be identified for analysing complex datasets, modelling environmental impacts and providing accurate predictions.
5. Digital Twin for Visitor Flow Management: To gain practical insights into the complex interplay between visitor flows, destination management strategies and climate change, digital twin tools will be explored to understand their potential for aiding visitor flow management.

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Discover more about the Workstream and how to participate here.

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