IN FOCUS: Countries around the world are battling overtourism. Could a hub like Singapore be next?


Any unruly visitor behaviour, however, largely remains confined to Chinatown’s sightseeing streets, and Mr Yip acknowledged that few if any tourists would venture into public housing grounds to disturb residents.

In other parts of the world, it’s a different story. 

Last month, residents in Barcelona, Spain threw items and sprayed tourists with water guns and canned drinks, while shouting at them to “go home”.

Protesters also used police-style cordons to block hotel entrances and sidewalk cafes in an attempt to close the establishments.

And in the historic Bukchon Hanok Village in downtown Seoul, tourist access will be restricted from October, in response to visitors outnumbering residents and escalating complaints about noise, littering and privacy issues over the years.

The issue in both cases has to do with overtourism, which experts CNA spoke to defined as occurring when visitor demand is higher than what a destination or its residents can support.

It can lead to the likes of overcrowding, a breach of public norms and local cultural sensitivities being impinged.

There are several more recent examples.

Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Italy’s Venice are among other cities worst-hit by overtourism. The Dutch capital’s solution has been to ban cruise ships by 2035, while Venice has announced a tourist entry fee.

Closer to Singapore, some businesses in Japan are considering a dual pricing system to charge foreign tourists more than local people.

This came after a huge barrier was erected at a popular photo spot to block views of Mount Fuji, due to crowds of badly behaved tourists.

Amid the slew of overtourism reports globally, Singapore, a hub in itself, would appear to stand far from the madding crowd.

The millions of visitors descending on the small nation have not led to any majorly negative effects on the quality of life for citizens, which experts and authorities attribute to a focus on well-planned infrastructure as well as tourist spending over numbers.

Still, is there a risk of this worldwide phenomenon catching up to Singapore – and how prepared is it to deal with such a possibility?



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