Throwing Shade at Tourists

“Venice isn’t only sinking, it’s shrinking. In the 1970s, there were about 175,000 residents in Centro Storico, the main island and historic center of Venice. As of last year, that number was below 50,000. What has been growing steadily is tourism, which due to economic and quality-of-life pressure, has been pushing out residents. In fact, there are now more tourist beds in Venice than there are residents. Last year, 20 million people visited, winding their way through its two square miles.” So, in an effort to stem (however slightly) the flow of tourists, Venice started charging a 5€ fee to day trippers who want to access the city. Whether the move eases crowding or turns Venice into (more of) a theme park remains to be seen. What is clear is that Venice is merely facing an extreme example of a plague that is confounding cities around the world: Over-tourism. For one pretty amazing illustration of this issue, let’s head to Fujikawaguchiko, Japan (but for that town’s sake, let’s not physically head there). “Known for a number of scenic photo spots that offer a near-perfect shot of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji, the town on Tuesday began constructing a large black screen on a stretch of a sidewalk to block the view of the mountain. The reason: misbehaving foreign tourists.”