Tourism and Gentrification: When Visitors Reshape a Place Beyond Recognition
Short-term rentals, souvenir shops, residents pushed out. How mass tourism transforms historic centres — and what we can do as travellers.
Foto: dave_7 (CC BY 4.0) — Flickr
There is a moment when a neighbourhood stops being a place and becomes a destination. It happens when residents begin to leave, replaced by short-term rentals. When local shops close and souvenir stores open in their stead. When the streets empty out at night because nobody lives there anymore — only tourists remain.
This is tourist gentrification, and it is happening all across Europe. In Venice, where the resident population has fallen below 50,000. In Lisbon, where entire neighbourhoods have been converted into Airbnbs. In Barcelona, where the Barrio Gótico has become a themed open-air park. In Florence, where the historic centre now houses more tourists than Florentines.
The mechanism is straightforward. When a place becomes attractive to tourists, property owners discover that renting to visitors pays more than renting to residents. Prices rise, residents move to the outskirts, neighbourhood services — the greengrocer, the hardware shop, the doctor — close because the clientele is gone. What remains is the shell: beautiful, photogenic, hollow.
As travellers, we are not innocent in this process. Every time we book an Airbnb in a historic centre, we add pressure to the residential property market. Every time we choose the most "authentic" neighbourhood for our stay, we accelerate its transformation into something no longer authentic.
This doesn't mean stop travelling. It means choosing consciously. Preferring a hotel over a short-term rental in the historic centre. Choosing a B&B run by local residents. Staying on the outskirts and reaching the centre on foot or by public transport. These are small choices that, multiplied across millions of travellers, make a difference.
It also means redistributing tourism across space and time. Instead of the historic centre, exploring residential neighbourhoods. Instead of high season, travelling in quieter months. Instead of a country's five most famous destinations, seeking out five less well-known ones.
Local administrations are responding, with mixed results. Venice has introduced an entry fee. Barcelona has capped licences for short-term rentals. Amsterdam has banned Airbnb in the centre. Florence has imposed escalating tourist taxes. These are attempts to manage a phenomenon that is slipping out of control, and they don't always work.
The most effective solution remains the simplest: go where others don't. Undertourism is not just a different way of travelling — it is a response to tourist gentrification. Bringing visitors to borghi that are emptying out rather than to cities that are emptying of their residents. It is a rebalancing that benefits everyone.
The question to ask before every trip is not only "where do I want to go?" but also "what effect will my presence have on this place?". It's not an easy question. But it's a necessary one. Because travel is a privilege, and like all privileges, it carries a responsibility.
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When is the best time to visit Tourism and Gentrification?
The recommended time is April, May, June, September and October, when it is less crowded.
Where is Tourism and Gentrification?
Tourism and Gentrification is located in Europe.
