
Europe’s Tourist Hot Spots Suffer as Big-Spending Americans Stay Away - RestlessMind
https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-tourist-hot-spots-suffer-as-u-s-big-spenders-are-told-to-stay-away-11594132862
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RestlessMind
_“We desperately need the Americans to solve their coronavirus situation or we
are going to be ruined,” says Mr. Rizzo._

 _“An Italian orders a coffee, Americans order drinks and food and they are
generous with tips.”_

 _The 4.4 million Americans who traveled to Italy last year spent €5.5 billion
($6.2 billion), making them the highest per capita spenders_

 _Travel and tourism account for 13% of the economy in Italy and 9% in France
and Europe as a whole_

There are some who bemoan mass-tourism and would like to see less of it. There
are some locals who would rather have their hometowns for their own pleasures
instead of being overrun by tourists. But these anecdotes and statistics can
help explain why mass-tourism is here to stay. There is simply too much money
and too many job opportunities in tourism, which cannot be replaced overnight
by something else.

If one wants to curb over-tourism, a necessary part of the solution would be
to figure out alternative opportunities for people dependent on tourism as
well as a smooth transition plan to that alternative.

