Further to the discussion on if entry fees are an effective barrier to slow or stop tourism, take a look at the numbers from India to Europe, the most preferred destination for Indians.
Source: schnegenvisainfo.com / TOI/ HT/ https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/ |
There are three interesting data points here.
First, there was a smart recovery from the low of the pandemic years (2020-2022) and it really shot up post 2022.
Second, in the same duration. the Schengen visa fee rose from Euro 60 to 80 per head and is today, in 2024, euro 90. Every three years or so, the EU revises this fee. The latest revision was effective June 2024.
Third, check out the rejections. There was a smart spike in the rejection % as well. India now is the third most rejected country from European visas. There is no refund for rejections (I think that's unform for all countries, even India). The key data point is- how much Indians lost to rejections. In 2023, it was about Euro 12 mn against about Euro 10mn in 2022.
So, what does it look like, in money terms? See table 2 below.
Table 2:
Source: schnegenvisainfo.com / TOI/ HT/ https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/ |
So how do you slow down over tourism? I believe more long-term damage to image and attractiveness of a destination will be done by singling out genuine tourists with embarrassment, financial losses, or violence (actual or threatened), like we saw in Barcelona. The latent hostility is even more concerning. Many people will pause a bit, and wonder. Should I spend my money in a place that's clearly hostile? Or at the very least, disdainfully tolerates me for my money?
Tricky, knotty issue, it sure is!
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