Talking Overtourism With Stuart McDonald from Travelfish.org [Season 3, Episode 12]

From a cute lil’ gazebo on the rooftop of a newly-renovated hotel in Chinatown, Greg, Ed, and Stuart from Travelfish.org jump into the complex issue of “overtourism” in Thailand. Beginning with a definition of the term (roughly when the number of tourists exceeds the capacity of the existing infrastructure to properly service them), Stuart describes the situation in a number of popular tourist destinations in Thailand. It’s a tricky subject - if one destination starts to get a bit too touristy, does this then mean that tourists (and expats in Thailand) should re-route their trips to lesser known destinations? Stuart thinks it’s a good idea, pointing out that in recent decades, tourist destinations in Thailand have actually gotten less diverse, as more regional options open up and compete for the almighty tourist dollar.

The guys then discuss other possible solutions to the problem, but all three express doubts about the Thai government’s willingness to sacrifice short term tourist numbers for long term preservation of Thailand’s position in the world of tourism. What do you think?

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