Travel Tip 154
How to avoid overtourism?
Cusco is delightfully green and empty in the rainy season January through March but over crowded and dry June through August.
My top three tips for not piling onto the growing overtourism problem.
First, what is overtourism?
Overtourism happens when the number of visitors overwhelms a place’s ability to manage them sustainably. This is when you see overcrowding at tourist sites and infrastructure like hotels and restaurants unable to keep up with demand. Residents get pushed out so tourists can rent apartments by the night and restaurant waiting lines snake down the street. Places like Machu Picchu have to design ten routes to spread people out, which means you’d have to buy ten separate tickets to see everything.
Overtourism leads to a diminished and disappointing experience for the tourist, frustration for residents and environmental degradation. It’s a serious problem that I should write about more often.
On my visit to Huánuco Pampa last week, I was the only tourist and the guy who sold me a ticket at the gate seemed mystified why I was there. During my two hour visit, I saw alpacas, sparrows, cara cara falcons and two species of ibis - but no other humans. My only complaint is that I wish there had a been a guide to give me more context than the bilingual Spanish-Quechua signs.
How to avoid overtourism?
My first two tips are for planning your trip and my third is what to do when you get there.
I visited Ccaccaccollo in March, when the village is lucky to get one group per day, rather than June - August when they’re exhausted by hosting tour groups back to back all day, every day.
1. Travel in the low season
Even the most popular tourist destinations in the world have a low season, when low numbers of tourists mean shorter lines and more discounts on airfare, hotels and sometimes tours. I don’t advocate for bucket lists, but if there is a place you absolutely have to go that is super touristy, figure out when it’s the least busy. You’ll have a better experience and local businesses will not have to depend entirely on one time of year.
In Cusco, February is so slow that many restaurants and shops close. Coming to Cusco from January to March not only gets you a popular destination without the crowds, it helps local businesses meet their expenses at a time when some have to lay off employees.
See the post about the national park? If the post is popular enough for IG to suggest it to me, then thousands of people have just put that park on their bucket list.
2. Don’t use social media to pick your destinations
Social media is great for seeing pretty photos but as soon as somebody posts about a place being amazing, it’s at risk of overtourism. By the time you’re the 5 millionth person to like that photo of Mt Fuji, the “secret” spot where it was taken is already overrun and local officials have had to block off the place where the photo was taken. Social media only amplifies what’s already popular.
Use Google Earth or maps to wander around a place you’re interested in, pick out a couple town names and then look for information about them in guidebooks, blogs and, yes, social media. Instagram and the like aren’t bad sources of information, they’re just not designed to show you places that aren’t already popular.
My friend Gaspar is from Tacna in southern Peru and has been an invaluable source of information since we met in 2017. He is the reason I’ve been to places like Huánuco Pampa and the reason I’m so close to seeing all 24 regions in Peru. With my trip to Huánuco last week, I only have four more to go: Pasco, Junín, Huancavelica and Ucayali.
3. Ask residents about their favorite spots
The term “hidden gem” kind of makes me cringe, but that’s basically what you should ask locals for. What are their favorite restaurants and places in town? What places would they take a friend visiting from another country? What towns have developed tourist attractions and want visitors, but haven’t got enough tourists yet? Just as important – what places should you avoid because the people there are sick of tourists or because tourism is negatively impacting the enrivonment?
The best part of this exercise is getting to interact with people who live in the place you’re visiting and hearing their perspective. As with all human opinions, think critically about what people tell you and ask them why the places they recommend are their favorites. If somebody tells you a town is boring because there’s no nightlife, but you’re looking for peace and quiet, then you’ve got the beginning of a good recommendation.
Make sure you’ve built some flexibility into your travel schedule, so you have time to check out the places locals recommend.
My article about visiting Cusco explains why you’ll have a better experience from November to March, rather than June to August.
Article: Cusco in the Low Season
Low Season Traveller published my article about why and how to visit Cusco in the low season: November to March, excluding the Christmas and New Year holidays. Here’s how to visit my favorite place in the world, without contributing to the massive overtourism that we experience June through August.
