Cordova: Tourism Troubles

Venice is currently accepting 30 million tourists every year. With a population of about 250,000 citizens, Venice is tasked with the challenge of how to balance the economic support tourists provide with the extreme burden of managing cruise ships full of people. To accommodate the large volume of tourists, the Venetian government would allow hotel companies such as JW Marriott or Hilton to purchase buildings and convert them into hotels, or for new hotels to be constructed. The weight of these additional buildings has surpassed the lagoon’s ability to hold up the city. Currently, Venice is slowly sinking at an average rate of one to two millimeters annually as a result of the weight of the buildings. Despite the allure of money from hotel companies, Venetian government officials have placed a ban on any new hotels. Besides not being able to hold up the weight of tourist housing, Venice is also struggling to combat strong currents which are eroding the city’s foundation and causing it to tilt. Large ships docking at Venice many times a day puts immense strain on the relatively fragile foundation of the city. The erosion, rising sea levels, and weight of the city are all contributing factors to the city’s sinking. Once the tourists leave the ship, they then usually head to the most popular tourist locations such as Piazza San Marco. Being a small city, the few main attractions quickly become overcrowded which in turn causes more people to seek alternative entertainment within the city. The volume and widespreadness of the visitors place a further strain on Venice’s water quality and waste management systems. Venice’s canals are central to the city’s function. Recently, the city has been struggling with what to do with the large amounts of biological waste left behind by tourists. Prior to new developments, Venice relied on the natural tides to dispose of waste. Now, Venice has implemented more modern equipment such as sedimentation tanks and septic tanks for managing solid waste. The water system is also having trouble with scented soaps that have not been verified as environmentally safe. Tourism also causes an increase in garbage produced. Most trash is handled by people manning garbage compactors on top of boats. Before it is collected, the trash attracts seagulls and rats who in turn make the problem worse by spreading litter throughout the city. Being aware of the problem, the company VESTA has made adjustments to their trash collection such as having people sort their waste into many categories to reduce the amount which is sent to landfills or ends up on the streets. Considering the propensity for tourists to spend little time in Venice and only visit main attractions, as well as the environmental and physical damage to the city, Venice should increase restrictions on tourists and make visiting for short durations more expensive.