Thursday, August 11, 2005

The Art Newspaper -- Travel vandals: the Grand Tour has gone sour

The Art Newspaper -- News

Interesting piece on the impact of mass amounts of tourists on the attractions they go to see. For example, each visitor to the tombs of Ramses II, Seti I, and Tutankhamun damages the wall paintings by breathing out about 1/3 cup of moisture while visiting. The article also, touches on the impact of increased access to sites, like the changes in flooding in Venice caused by the new deep water route and influx of cruise ships. Some innovative solutions are suggested such as charging a premium for the most crowded sites or areas within a site (e.g. charging extra for the Mona Lisa in the Louvre), and ecotourism based solutions.

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