Category: Overuse

Tourist Tuesday, 4/3/18

I took  a closer look at thepresentation MCCVB made at the last BSMBAAC meeting. While I can see the need for a “Destination Master Plan”  for Monterey County, I think we need a separate and community oriented, implemented, and managed Sustainable Destination Stewardship Program/Plan for Big Sur. In discussions with Tammy Blount of MCCVB, she has agreed that a separate, “special” forum should be held for Big Sur. I look forward to working with Tammy and finding a common vocabulary which will strengthen our sense of community here in Big Sur – the crown jewel of Monterey County.

A “Master Plan” reminds me too much of dystopian novels like 1984, Brave New World, Handmaiden’s Tale, Soylent Green, etc. Personally, I think the Sustainable and Stewardship components of any plan are critical to how we approach the issue of sustainability of both the community and the environment of Big Sur as tourism continues to increase exponentially. The focus needs to shift from making money to sustaining the sense of place, in my opinion. Making money is only relevant if it is used to enhance the experience – not profit from it. I also see that Big Sur needs a bigger voice in any planning endeavor.  Big Sur needs to take the lead in any efforts to “market” her unique beauty, and if necessary, tell others she is not for sale. Several members of the board of CPOA are willing and delighted to work with us on creating an entity for such a purpose.

Naming, to me, helps to define, refine, and focus our goals so we don’t get distracted from the purpose we have for going forward, obtaining financing, other backing, and instituting meaningful change to save our community and place while we share it with visitors. Also, it will help establish the roles of all our various governmental and non-governmental agencies who claim a stakehold in Big Sur by helping them to fulfill their management plans and see the many ways each is compatible with the others. We need to get away from the singularity which defines each government agency and begin to see our Big Sur Coast as a holistic entity, entitled to the protection she needs and deserves.

Here is a quarterly event that MCCVB hosts that addresses this issue:

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The above is a screen shot, so the registration button is not “live.” Here is a link you can go to to register for the Sustainable Moments marketing forum: Sustainable Moments Quarterly Forum. I have signed up to attend, and will report back after the Forum. Marcus Foster has also indicated he is interested in attending. I would encourage all of you interested in the future of Big Sur and her tourism component to come to this forum to listen, learn, and contribute, if appropriate. Big Sur is the driving force behind tourism for the entire Monterey Peninsula. It is time we have a bigger voice that is heard.

Next week, I will seek out information on how to work with and organize all the diverse stakeholders present in Big Sur. Thanks to others in the community with whom I have had conversations, I am convinced that the MCCVB is NOT the appropriate entity to spear head an issue to preserve and protect Big Sur, and am looking at a whether a disinterested outside consultant might be the way to go, along with formulating a non-profit Big Sur entity capable of grant-writing, funding a consultant, fund-raising, organizing, and implementing a long-term plan that incorporates all the various interlocking pieces that comprise Big Sur and make her who she is. If you want to be a part of this process, please let me know how you see yourself contributing, either in the comments or via email to kwnovoa@mac.com

I had not intended to make this portion of my blog a full-time endeavor, but that is what it is becoming. Big Sur needs protecting and all of us must become proactive in this. All the individual concerns we have: bathrooms, traffic, degradation of the wilderness, camping, enforcement, tourists who drive Highway One (poorly), but don’t spend here, preserving our community, work-force housing, our history, protecting our environment and so much more are pieces of this much larger puzzle. Join us in becoming a part of the solution, instead of just bitching. Let’s save the love of our lives and our home, Mama Sur.

Tourism Tuesday, 3/13/18

As promised, here is another post from the Destination Center. I did not copy the entire page, but there are quite a few funding sources from foundations, government, etc. If you are interested in exploring funding sources for a sustainable tourism project, you will need to go to the original page for funding here:

Destination Center Funding Sources

Also, I want to point out to all my readers that the last four months of Tourism or Tourist Tuesdays are now consolidated on to a single page for ease in finding information. I worked on it all day Monday, 3/12; copying all the existing posts, making sure all links were active, and reproducing all the photographs originally included. One can find this page to the right, under “Pages, title Tourist Tuesday Posts.” I hope this will help all those who are interested in or working on making our tourism sustainable for the land, the residents, and the tourists.

Also, I have been in contact with Peter Chung, of PARKIT, which is specifically addressing  similar issues surrounding Point Lobos and Garrapata and we are hoping to work together along with other individuals and groups to get these tourist issues resolved. I understand that this will be presented at the BSMAAC meeting in conjunction with the suggestion for a destination management plan. Darn, wish I could come. Anyone want to record it for me? Or send me notes? Or maybe a YouTube? Doesn’t need to be but this section of the meeting.

 

The absurdity of a food truck at Bixby Bridge, 1/6/18

Yes, that is a “food truck” in the form of a trailer. And yes, it set up shop on the Bixby Bridge turnout. And yes, that is a customer standing in line. At one point, I am informed, the line was edging over the white fog line. Thanks Ken Ecklund for taking the photo and Martha for sending it. I will make sure and send this on.

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STRs, part 3, 1/5/18

Probably THE most comprehensive website on Short Term Rentals in Monterey County can be found here:

Preserve Monterey Neighborhoods

This is their mission statement:

“This is a working group to consider litigation, voter initiative, and activism options to stop STR in Monterey County.

We are looking for constructive suggestions and a healthy debate to develop a consensus and action plan that can win. The purpose of this website is to be a resource for information that may be helpful.

In the Coastal Zone of Monterey, every City and area has at least one group opposing STR except for Seaside and Marina. In the one city where STR is currently legal (Pacific Grove), opposition is growing and organizing. There is a page for each that has their public statements and/or Comments to the Planning Commission.”

I urge you to explore this website for a wealth of available information about this issue before the January 10th workshop with the Planning Commission. I will offer bits & pieces of it as I can.

 

STRs, part II, 1/4/18

One of the more comprehensive journalistic stories done on short term rentals in Monterey Peninsula was penned by Joe Livernois and published by Voices of Monterey Peninsula a month ago. Mr. Livernois investigated those communities that had regulated STRs as well as those with outright bans. His article is a good place to start for an overall picture of the ways STRs change neighborhoods for the good and for the bad. It can be found here:

Livernois’s STRs article in Voices

It is really worth the time and effort it takes to read it. See what Carmel has done and see what Pacific Grove has done. Each has taken a completely different approach, and as could be expected, with completely different results. It is an issue which is not going to go away, but which needs to be addressed. It is not only Big Sur that will be affected, it is all the unincorporated areas of Monterey County – Carmel Valley and the Highlands, for example. However, as many vacationers want to spend it on the coast, those of us ON the coast will face the biggest impacts. Airbnb has changed the face of the visitor worldwide.

Short Term Rentals in Big Sur

One cannot look at the impacts of tourism in Big Sur without also looking at the impact of Short Term Rentals (STR). In one week, the Planning Commission will hold a public workshop to discuss this issue. Below you will find the announcement in a pdf format converted to jpg. In the days ahead, as necessary weather reports allow, I will post information on the issue to help those of you who wish to prepare for the meeting. On the weather front, we will finally get some rain today, thankfully.

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Tourism Tuesday, 1/2/18

Continuing on with our theme:

The good news, if long overdue, is that tourism media now brim with opinions on how to deal with overtourism.

* Tourism consultant Xavier Font and journalist Elizabeth Becker have articles on the problem in the Guardian.
* Former Nat Geo Traveler editor Norie Quintos has recommendations on crowd-dodging for adventure-travel tour operators.
* Tourism news service Skift has offered its own 5 solutions. Skiff Solutions
* Responsible Travel’s Justin Francis argues that megacruise ships and budget airlines exacerbate the problem, supported by governments that refuse to impose carbon taxes.
* Our own Destination Stewardship Center has several blog posts on the topic, including one by Salli Felton of the Travel Foundation.
* The Independent reports on Amsterdam’s plan for using technology to spread out the crowds.
* WTTC promises to issue a report about overtourism later this year. Commentator Anna Pollock has posted her doubts in a Linkedin essay that urges optimizing tourism, not maximizing it.
Pollock is on to something. Most of those overtourism recommendations merely mitigate the problem. The population explosion has already happened. The term “overtourism” may lose its cachet from overuse, but the problem is here for generations. It cannot be solved until world leaders face a simple geometric reality:

It is impossible to pack infinitely growing
numbers of tourists into finite spaces.

So what to do? A world of more than 7 billion people requires rethinking tourism, namely:

1. Change the prevailing paradigm: More tourism is not necessarily better. Better tourism is better.
2. Governments and industry should therefore abolish the practice of setting tourism goals based only on arrivals.
3. Instead, incentivize longer stays and discourage hit-and-run, selfie-stick tourism.
4. To help do that, destination stakeholders should form stewardship councils that help government and industry plan according to limits of acceptable change.

Entire article here: https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/10/29/overtourism-plagues-great-destinations-heres-why/

Tourism Tuesday, 12/26/17

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TOUR BUSES AT THE PERITO MORENO GLACIER, LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK, ARGENTINE PATAGONIA. PHOTO: JONATHAN TOURTELLOT

“Overtourism has been manifesting itself for over two decades in popular countries like Spain, Italy, and France. But somehow the population pressure hit the red zone this year. Says one colleague, “It’s the topic du jour. The phrase is on the lips of every travel expert, every pseudo-expert, and every travel industry opportunist.”

Residents have raised a chorus of protest: “Too many tourists!”

No surprise. From Barcelona to Venice, from Reykjavik to Santorini, residents have raised a chorus of protest: “TOO MANY TOURISTS!” Plenty of visitors chime in: Not what we came for. How can a visitor experience the delights of a foreign city if the streets are packed with thousands—yes, thousands—of cruise-ship passengers and lined with global franchises to cater to them? Serious travelers increasingly dismiss such places—“too touristy.”

Pressed beyond tolerable limits, some destinations are fighting back. Dubrovnik is instituting severe caps on cruise passengers, as is Santorini. Italy’s Cinque Terre is ready to impose quotas on people hiking between the five picturesque villages. The Seychelles wants to limit hotel sizes to protect their reputation as an Indian Ocean paradise.” (To be Continued next week)

 

STRs – Short Term Rentals, 12/14/17

Short Term Rentals are a controversial subject among residents in almost all communities. It is not an easy subject to discuss in many circumstances, as the opponents and supporters on each side tend to hold some strong feelings about the issue. One local attorney is exploring the idea of a voter’s referendum to determine the appropriateness of these commercial enterprises among local residential areas. Others claim this is an inappropriate avenue, given the Coast Commission’s position on STR. I will be covering this subject over the next few weeks and providing information as I can to help you decide for yourself what will work in your area.

First, is the position the Carmel Valley Association sent out today:

”CVA’s Position on Short Rentals

The Carmel Valley Association recognizes that short-term rentals have the potential to have negative impacts in residential areas, especially when unlimited, concentrated and unregulated. Control of STRs is necessary to ensure that they will be compatible with surrounding residential uses and will not harm or change the residential character of existing neighborhoods. Additionally, we are very concerned about ensuring that STRs do not further increase traffic on our over-burdened roads and intersections.

A review of local and non-local ordinances in other jurisdictions indicates that the following elements are critical to effectively control potential negative impacts of STR’s:
*Short-term rentals must have permits and be regulated.
*Rental properties must comply with zoning and building codes.
*Number of occupants must be limited and parking adequate, preferably on site.
*Safety and health codes must be maintained by periodic inspection.
*Wells and septic systems must be inspected, maintained and meet public health standards.
*Density of STRS must be limited in neighborhoods to control their residential character.
*Nuisances must be controlled (such as noise, lights).
*Rentals must be subject to the County’s Transient Occupancy Tax and initial fee must be paid in person directly to the County.
*Notice to, and approval by, neighbors of STRS must be required.. Permission of neighbors to use private road or shared driveway must be required.
*Owners/residents must live on site and be available and responsive.
*The ordinance must be enforced and adequate funds provided for that enforcement.”

STRs in Big Sur Land Use Plan area withdrawn from Planning Commission meeting

This is a long letter, but I feel important enough to post in full. Because of the way they are formatted, I must post as images. It is just over 3 pages.

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