Tourism: the good, the bad, and the increasingly ugly

It seems that the world is drowning in tourists. Multi-page lift-outs promoting and extolling ‘must-see-before-you-die’ tourist destinations adorn every newspaper and glossy magazine … unnaturally white and hideous teeth gleam from our TV sets in ads that [1] are enough to make you puke and [2] forever avoid the travel site they seek to advertise … seductive deals for 5-star hotels, cosy retreats, and Airbnb’s are everywhere … train &/or coach &/or cruise ship itineraries reaching into every corner of the globe … the onslaught is endless.

Fuelled by the retirement funds of the baby-boomers [1946-64], the kids-are-leaving-the-nest Gen X’s [1965-80], or the upwardly mobile Millennials [1981-96], and encouraged by greedy governments in desperate need of the tourist dollar, tourism is now a global mega-business.

On opening Facebook today, yet another travel company advertisement assailed me with its enticement to ‘go cruising’—a now much-publicised and popular holiday option for the recently retired or long-retired—but this time, to Antarctica!

After taking a hammering during the Covid years, it appears that on-the-water holidays by river or sea have surged back to, and even surpassed, their pre-pandemic popularity, reaching into every corner of our stressed and straining globe—though sharing the heaving confinement of a small floating city with as many as 5,000 other trapped and corralled human beings has never been my idea of ‘pleasure’.

While I must confess my hypocrisy … I did take one ‘small’ ship cruise [150 passengers] to the Norwegian fjords in 2018 … this morning’s advertisement for a cruise to and flights over Antarctica did jangle my ‘narky’ bell. An accompanying video clip even showed—or at least suggested—a tourist-laden aircraft landing on the Antarctic ice! While I understand that tourism is everywhere and likely cannot be stopped, fair suck of the sauce bottle: couldn’t we have spared Antarctica from being added to the tourist pot? Couldn’t we have preserved just one wild place, protected it, and allowed it to stay wild?

I am reminded of the immortal line attributed to Henry II … “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” A modern-day paraphrase might read … “Can no corner of our earth be saved from rapacious tourism?”

Luckily, my hackles settled after I checked the regulations governing Antarctic flights. This confirmed that flights and landings are [currently] limited to permit-holding private charter flights, helicopter and ‘air-cruises ‘[whatever that means] … though it is a murkier space to find out just who issues these permits. Commercial flights cannot [as yet] land. I can only pray this will remain the case, though it seems the tourist foot is already forcing the door!

The ravage of tourism—shades of the 1978 Michael Caine movie, ‘The Swarm’—is rapidly morphing from ‘a nice way to tick off the bucket list’ to ‘the best way to rape the environment’.

Recent news articles are highlighting that ‘the locals have had enough’. For example, Reuters reported from Barcelona in early June that “thousands of people took to the streets of cities in southern Europe on Sunday to demonstrate against over-tourism”. Protesters in Barcelona chanted through the streets: “your holidays, my misery”… “mass tourism is killing our city”… and “their greed, our ruin”, while posting stickers on shop windows and in hotels to proclaim: “neighbourhood self-defence, tourist go home” [ https://tinyurl.com/bd5vw5af ].

Similar [and increasingly ugly] crowds of angry residents have protested in Venice, Dubrovnik, Lisbon, and Santorini, where the arrival of each cruise ship [often several come at once] moors a moderate-sized township equivalent on the waterfront. Over-visitation has recently forced the closure of the Louvre in Paris, while the Baltic countries, Machu Picchu in Peru, and Kyoto in Japan are similarly under stress.

Are we being similarly ravaged? Certainly, the impact of tourism along our sleepy southern coastline is hardly comparable to its full-blown assault in Southern Europe. Still, over-crowding is already damaging the ‘open space and waves for all’ Bondi brand, where local residents are now loudly expressing their frustrations over congestion, noise, and littering. Locals in other tourist ‘hot spots’ [FNQ, Uluru, and the Blue Mountains] are similarly concerned.

The ‘GoDrivin’ website [ https://tinyurl.com/53cjxmuf ] quotes some unreferenced but staggering figures. If correct, they underline the stresses imposed by unrestrained tourism. It reports that: “… globally, approximately 1.4 billion international tourists (overnight visitors) were recorded in 2024, an 11% increase from 2023. In Australia, 11 million passengers entered in Q4 through Sydney airport alone, with the national ledger recording a cash spending bonanza by international visitors of $38.3 billion [yes, billion] in 2023-24.” Is it little wonder that Canberra [and our cash-strapped Victorian government] both love tourism?

But, as is so often the case, the effort to “promote and they will come” has not been matched by a zeal to “resource and manage hotspot infrastructure”. At a local level, even as VicGov, GORCAPA, and the wider tourism industry relentlessly extoll the joys of the great and wild Great Ocean Road, far less effort [and funding] has been devoted to road infrastructure and especially to the towns that underpin it. Despite some late, belated, and agonisingly slow roadworks, the road continues to deteriorate under the press of tourist buses and excreta soils the coastal verge.

As the GoDrivin website concludes [with paraphrasing]: “… growth in tourism brings both opportunities and challenges. While boosting the overall economy, it also strains its destinations and local communities. This dilemma is being faced by many traveller hotspots in this country—and around the world—with authorities struggling to strike a balance between supporting local needs, even as they reap the benefits of tourist income.”

GoDrivin suggest some potential remedies, though not all apply to the GOR. These include: “… the imposition of visitor caps and timed ticket entry … the promotion of alternative destinations … an effort to encourage exploration of lesser-known areas … the use of off-peak travel incentives to ease congestion at popular sites … the introduction of tourist taxes and fees [this would be popular in Spring Street] … entrance fee charges with revenue reinvestment in conservation practices … and using apps and data analytics to monitor and manage real-time visitor flows.”

Finally, the site adds a last suggestion: “… collaboration in tourism planning with local communities to balance economic benefits with residents’ quality of life.”

But, in all seriousness, why is ‘the involvement of the local community’ always a last gasp ‘add-on’, an afterthought tacked on at the end as “… oh, and I nearly forgot”?

This ‘oops, we forgot the locals’ approach has been GORCAPA’s modus operandi—and they will come to regret it. I am tempted to borrow [unasked] from the IGA supermarket group motto and remind that … “Locals Matter”.

John Agar
Feature Writer

A word from the chairman

Hello, and Happy Birthday to all horses.

As we move into the last month of Winter, we see signs of new life in our gardens and we look forward to the advent of Spring.  Winter in Lorne certainly has its appeal with roast dinners, open fires, convivial nights under the heaters at the Anglers and cheering on our footballers and netballers at a cold and windy Stribling Reserve.  Even the weather is a point of interest and a conversation-starter, “What was the water temperature this morning?”,  “How much rain did you get in your gauge last night?”, “What’s the ‘feels–like’ temperature?”, “Did you see the sunrise this morning?” and “Did you hear the wind last night”.  However, the novelty is starting to wear thin and we look forward to sunny skies and getting outdoors.

*****

Speaking of which, the Lorne Bowls Club is starting to plan for this year’s Community Cup competition. The competition is conducted over three Wednesday evenings in September, with nightly and aggregate prize money awarded. Each team of three must include a non-pennant player, with the Club offering coaching for non-bowlers. There is also a restriction on club players who play in the top side, from playing in the same team.

It is ten years since the introduction of the Community Cup into the Bowls Club programme. Over this time, the event has promoted the game of bowls in the community and most importantly it has been a means to recruit both pennant and social bowling members into the Club. It has also been used by local businesses as a staff-bonding exercise. The Club has made one change to assist workers, the starting time is now 5.30 pm. The three Wednesdays are September 3^rd, 10^th and 17^th.

The Club supplies all the equipment needed. You only have to wear flat-soled shoes. Match committee chair, Marilyn MacKenzie, reports that those who enter have a great deal of fun and it also gives new employees to Lorne a chance to meet other workers and local residents. Marilyn also expressed the Club’s thanks to Great Ocean Road Real Estate whose generous sponsorship of the Club includes the Community Cup.

She also stressed that individuals who are interested, but do not have a team, can make a single entry and the Club will organise them into a compatible side. Lawn bowls is a sport that is very inclusive; it is intergenerational and a great social game. I encourage businesses to enter a team and other community members to become involved.

Entry forms are available at the Club on the noticeboard on the front veranda, or simply email your interest to [email protected]

I encourage you to support this important community-based event and my thanks to Gary Allen for providing this information.

Cheers 

Lorne Ward Events Calendar

August

2-3 Surf Coast Arts Trail, 10 am – 4 pm Joshua James Artist will be at Lorne Community Connect with a demonstration on Sunday 3 August at 11 am. Learn about the meaning behind Aboriginal designs and symbols.

3 – LAAC Winter Comp No 3. lines down after 6am, weigh in at the Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club at 12:30 followed by BBQ lunch.

9 – Lorne Dolphins Football and Netball V Western Eagles, at Stribling Reserve, juniors match from 8:45am, seniors at 2pm

16 – Surfcoast Wonderfalls Trail Run, Starting at Cumberland River/Lorne. Distances: 6km 13km 25km 42km 52km

23 – Lorne Dolphins Football and Netball V Simpson, at Stribling Reserve, juniors match from 8:45am, seniors at 2pm

25 – Cheese-Making Course, Learn to make ricotta, paneer & mozzarella at Deans Cottage. 6pm – 7pm $35 per person. Register: [email protected]