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Tourism affects almost every inch of the world, whether big or small, and whether those places have been visited often or not. If you think about traveling, there may be many places that first pop into your mind- France, Hawaii, Japan- and its safe to say that all these places have been affected by tourism in some way, whether positive or negative. One such place is Italy, more specifically Venice. Venice, Italy is known for its canals, which replace roads, and allow locals and tourists alike to ride the boats around the entirety of the city, in order to get from one side of the city to the next, and is known for its European art, and music. Because Venice is made up of over 100 small islands, getting there may be a bit difficult- one can get to the city by train, or airplane, and after they’ve reached the train station or airport, tourists are able to reach Venice by boat. The city, with over 400 year old buildings that still stand strong today, is more than developed- the small city  has been visited by tourists since around the 18th century- and since then the city has continued to grow larger and larger. Venice now holds over 400 hotels, not including Air BnBs, or other privately owned rentals. Venice has many beautiful buildings surrounding the city, allowing any tourist who are looking for an excuse to relax

Venice Italy is a mecca for tourists, its popularity brings positive and negative impacts to the country and locals. Venice is a dense area, with a unique landscape and vast in cultural heritage; this city-state needs to be explored but also protected. Italian culture is full of history and celebration, the arts and food with a focus on saints. Many small islands connected by canals, a special backdrop, draw outsiders in. Full of art and architecture it is important that the culture of Venice is available for those eager to learn and appreciate its history, sharing the magic with locals. As tourists experience this they come back and bring others with them, requiring hotels and transportation systems to expand with the demand. This expansion was a benefit, sharing the sociocultural aspects of Venice and developing jobs for the locals, but its popularity has reached a level of concern. Venice is losing its history as more outsiders bring their culture in and it is losing space as the crowds take over. Its authenticity is now in question. The financial economy of the city-state has grown through the years. Businesses are increased, restaurants and housing, as well as the transportation sector are booming. Tourists are bringing large amounts of money, an estimated 2.3 billion Euros, to Venice; which is beneficial but not sustainable. Economically, as a whole, goods and services can only be bought if available and with over tourism those are diminishing. Venice is financially secure in many aspects but there is a cost, the livelihood of the locals. With tourism booming, prices on goods and services, and housing is increasing causing locals to move as they can’t afford the prices tourists pay. With locals gone, who will keep tourism afloat, and who will keep the heritage of Venice alive? This is a huge price of over tourism. Venice has seen a 50 cm rise in levels, with that number increasing the city is sinking as tourists increase year over year. Whether they arrive by cruise ship or plane, tourists are overpopulating the city and damaging the environment. This is obvious to the locals who were able to fish in the canals again and enjoy visible waters again during 2020 when tourists were not visiting due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. In just a year the city was clean again, the beauty of Venice was brought back to life. Even though the city was able to take a breath, global climate change has not been reversed and therefore the sea levels are still rising, taking Venice with them. Overall, tourism allows for sociocultural exchanges, economic gains and environmental discoveries. The experiences made when traveling can impact a person for a lifetime, allowing them to gain a new perspective on the world and appreciate the land but as the old saying goes, with great reward comes great risk, negative impacts of over tourism are greater than the benefits. 

 

Sustainability is something that is extremely important in tourism. Many people seem to overlook the fact that even though a city may be flooded with tourists and be making millions of dollars each year from tourism, they are not necessarily making the money back themselves. A lot of money that comes in to Venice also leaves Venice, and that is because locals are not the ones making most of the money, its big businesses and outsider tourist attractions who bring in that haul. Sustainability also addresses environmental impacts and people tend to look past that as well. Venice is sinking due to climate change and there isn't much that was being done to help that. The more they built palaces and buildings the more the city continues to sink. One local certification agency that is putting an effort to promote and develop sustainability in Venice is Venezia Autentica. They’re goal is focused on helping Venice, but they also want to help the entire world! Venezia Autentica states “Venezia Autentica is the only company trying to help improve the future of Venice and Venetians by changing the way we see and impact Venice, delivering news, info, entertainment and tools to millions of people around the world.” By using the tools they have provided to tourists to feel like they are actually locals in Venice and experience the city like it, they have brought in over 3 million euros back to local establishments. They have created a platform where they are able to promote and empower many local businesses that may not have ever had the chance to find success in between major establishments that were not authentic. By doing so, they have empowered and digitized over 150+ local businesses and their content has been seen over 40 million times by users around the globe. Venezia Autentica focuses on helping the locals strive and tourists to have the best experience possible, the true Venetian experience. Lastly, they believe that this will bring more revenue to Venice as well as decrease footprints from visitors. I believe that this organization is putting all their effort into making Venice as sustainable as they can. Venice is a city that was falling apart and was losing all its heritage and authenticity to tourism. People were no longer really experiencing an Italian voyage, they were stuck in a tourist trap. With efforts from more and more people Venice will be able to restore their culture and thrive again. Some of the best ways to promote sustainability are to have cleaner forms of transport, eat local food, visit local businesses, have greener accommodations, understand the impacts, book tours with qualified tour guides, visit some of the smaller islands, and respect the environment!

The three challenges Italy is facing today are: aging population, pollution, and neglect of cultural sites. The environmental issue that worried Italians the most in 2019 was waste management. Other popular environmental concerns were air pollution and global warming. According to a survey conducted in 2019, over 40 percent of Italian respondents indicated that these environmental issues were the most relevant problems that Italy faces today. Indeed, introducing measures to defend the environment was one of the Italian government’s most urgent matters according to Italian respondents. Although awareness of climate change is rising, the question of personal or governmental responsibility remains. In 2019, a vast majority of Italian respondents declared that they could, individually, make a real impact on the environment. Overall, whilst environmental skepticism remained to this day, Italians were mostly aware of the necessity of environmental action. Other environmental issues currently facing Italy include air pollution from energy and heating, transportation and industrial sources, polluted inland waters, acid rain, and insufficient industrial waste treatment and disposal programs. Italy is a member of the European Union, its environmental policies largely fall under EU environmental legislation. It also reports that Italy is currently looking to push forward with several water conservation initiatives, including the evolution of the legal and institutional framework, reforming the water supply systems and improving water sanitation systems. Later in the future, Italy will have a rapid change in their clean environment for the local public. Italy should develop a national energy sector consistent with the modern energy market. The IEA (International Energy Agency) report also said Italy needs to continue identifying and addressing deficiencies in its energy infrastructure. This will also make a major push in climate change responsibilities. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 Italy has exploded with this virus, and many public places have not been disinfected. With COVID and the environment health risks the citizens of Italy are facing major help that cannot be ignored. These have various consequences for the health of a population, both directly in terms of mortality and morbidity, and indirectly through changes in the ecosystem.