FEG ONLINE SURVEY ON
UNBALANCED TOURISM
The European Union Commission through the group called « Tourism Stakeholders», created a task force to study « Unbalanced Tourism ».
FEG conducted an online survey among its member associations with a very positive outcome: 896 replies sent by qualified tourist guides across Europe. Most important is the number of comments that respondents took the time to include.
A total of 780 interesting pieces of information were provided to us by the FEG members.
The list of common concerns includes:
Some suggestions that came up:
Encouraging the explanations on the tour bus. This idea contributes to less noise and more fluidity for the guided visits.
Authorities should implement the berth allocation system, which does not allow many cruise ships to arrive on the same date and time at a port.
Promote lesser-known areas, museums and sites.
Exchanges of ideas between tour organisers and tourist guides can help create alternative itineraries.
Campaign against the growing disrespect from the visitors (selfies/phone calls/noise).
Presence of the authorities to control irresponsible behaviour.
In Conclusion
The concern of tourist guides is not only for the sustainability of the public spaces and sites but also about the quality of guided tours and the working conditions and stress that we encounter.
The FEG ExCo wishes to thank all participants that involved 26 countries in Europe.