Overtourism, frequently referred to as tourism overcrowding, has affected countries such as Spain and Italy, however Africa is seemingly only affected seasonally.  

Colin Bell, Co-Founder of Natural Selection, says Africa is underperforming severely when it comes to tourism, considering its vast size.

Africa’s tourism growth in 2017 is estimated at 8% according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

Tourist hotspots such as Table Mountain and the Masai Mara experience overtourism, but only at certain times of the year. For the remainder of the year, things slow down, says Bell, adding that at these peak times, if overtourism causes negative effects it boils down to poor management and planning.

A tourism surge would provide a platform for growth and expansion of existing facilities, explains Bells.

“The tourism load can be spread geographically throughout Southern Africa and to the smaller reserves, which in turn creates jobs that, all in all, boost the economy,” adds Bell. He says South African Tourism’s (SAT) 5-in-5 approach needs to be aggressively pursued, as Africa is critically underperforming in terms of tourist arrivals.

SANParks’ annual performance plan revealed that accommodation occupancy was estimated at 71% for 2016/2017, with a new target of 72,5% for 2017/18. Bell says this occupancy rate needs to be at least between 80% and 85%.

Collin Thaver, Managing Director of Southern Africa 360, says tourist overcrowding poses a threat to South African destinations, and those such as Table Mountain, Robben Island, Cape Point and the Kruger National Park are particularly under threat.

“Iconic sights like Cape Point and Table Mountain run long lines, and an unfavourable visitor experience is gained from this long waiting around to get in and out,” concludes Thaver.

Coping with tourist overcrowding comes down to management, says Vivian McCarthy, Director of Acacia Africa, who believes it is not too late to put careful safeguards in place.

“In some ways, Southern Africa is in a better position to deal with potential overtourism than some other areas because we are already adept at dealing with wildlife/human conflict and conservation issues and devising positive steps to manage those issues. It rather depends on the monitoring of resources and mechanisms in key tourist areas such as the Kruger and Cape Town to determine how best tourism can be managed to benefit stakeholders, local communities and the customer,” concludes McCarthy.

To deal with the negative effects of overtourism, Bell suggests that price is the big leveller, as it will sort out the issue of demand and supply. This solution was also included in a recent analysis on the issue of tourism overcrowding conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council in conjunction with McKinsey and Company, the first major analysis of its kind.

The report highlights five problem areas: alienation of local residents, constrained infrastructure, diminished tourist experience, damage to natural resources, and threat to cultural heritage.

The report suggests that regions should smooth visitors over time – as many destinations suffer from imbalances of visitors during certain seasons – as well as spread visitors across sites geographically to help distribute tourists more evenly to avoid bottlenecking in locations. Another possible solution is to adjust pricing to balance supply and demand, as this can be an effective way to better align demand with supply. Another suggestion is to regulate accommodation supply and limit access and activities when overcrowding reaches a critical stage.

Alex Dichter, Senior Partner at McKinsey and Company, says: “Overcrowding is easier to prevent than to recover from and the real lesson from our work is that good management is vital for all tourism destinations… There is no easy, one-size-fits-all fix. Once destinations have sorted out the fact base, strategy, stakeholders and funding, they must then identify and execute practical actions, both for long and short term.”