Overtourism has sparked a global backlash, with residents from Barcelona to Venice openly protesting against visitor surges that strain infrastructure, inflate prices, and erode local culture. Author Paige McClanahan offers a remedy: travel deeper, stay longer, visit fewer places.
The conventional tourist model rewards breadth over depth. Travellers dash through Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, snap photos at Sagrada Familia, then fly to the next destination. This hit-and-run approach concentrates visitor impact into narrow zones, creating congestion that exhausts locals and diminishes authentic experiences for travellers themselves.
McClanahan's philosophy inverts this logic. Rather than collecting passport stamps across ten countries in two weeks, spend two weeks in a single city. Stay in neighborhood guesthouses instead of international hotel chains. Eat at family-run restaurants where locals gather, not tourist-trap establishments near major attractions. Learn basic phrases in the local language. Hire independent guides rather than mega-tour operators.
This approach redistributes tourism's economic benefits more equitably. When visitors linger in secondary neighborhoods, spending on cafes, markets, and services reaches small business owners directly. Extended stays also create relationships that humanize both traveller and host, replacing the transactional nature of brief visits.
The shift requires behavioral change. Budget airlines and social media have trained travellers to maximize destinations per trip. Instagram culture rewards novelty over immersion. Real change means resisting these pressures. It means choosing depth over bragging rights.
Cities like Lisbon, Prague, and Dubrovnik have implemented caps on tour groups and visitor numbers. Some neighborhoods in Amsterdam restrict Airbnb rentals. These measures work but feel punitive. McClanahan's model offers a better path. When travellers voluntarily reduce destination hopping and extend stays, they solve the problem organically.
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