--:-- Sean Rameswaram: You hear the one about the Chicago rat hole? You hear about this thing now? No, what thing? It was there, in Roscoe Village, for decades. Some rat, or maybe a squirrel, had clearly fallen into wet cement, and its imprint was sitting there in the sidewalk for everyone to see. But then, early this year, a comedian tweeted a photo of the rat hole, and it became a sensation. It became a tourist destination, a mecca. Now dozens are paying their respects to the rat, dubbed Chimley, with coins, alcohol, flowers, and of course, cheese. There's been a proposal and an actual wedding there in the last week. The rat hole became such a nuisance that the city had to get rid of it. But don't worry, there are Chicago rat holes all over the world. Venice is one of them. But you can't just lift Venice out of Italy because too many people are showing up to see it. So instead, Venice has introduced a fee.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Layering is an art form. All it takes is a bit of intention, style, and of course, the perfect cold weather staples. So find the perfect look for you with the help of Macy's Fall Fashion Guide. Your one-stop shop for fall's latest trends and must-haves, curated by their experts. From leather to denim to cozy knits, find everything you need to piece together your new fall look. Explore the Macy's Fall Guide for yourself and shop in-store or online at Macy's.com.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Nobody likes fees and complicated banking, says Chime. And Chime gets that, says Chime. Chime is a financial technology company that says they understand that every dollar counts. So when you set up direct deposit through Chime, they say you get access to fee-free features such as free overdraft coverage, getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit, so much more. Chime says with qualifying direct deposits, you can be eligible for free overdraft up to $200 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. Plus, they say you don't need to worry about monthly fees or maintenance fees. You can work on your financial goals through Chime today You can open an account in two minutes at Chime slash explained That Chime slash explained Chime feels like progress Chime is a financial technology company not a bank Banking services and debit card provided by the Bank or Bank N or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file. Fees apply at out of network ATMs. Bank ranking and number of ATMs according to U.S. News and World Report 2023. Chime checking account required.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Are you happy with your job? Like, really happy? The unfortunate fact is that a huge number of people can't say yes to that. Far too many of us are stuck in a job we've outgrown, or one we never wanted in the first place. But still, we stick it out. And we give reasons like, what if the next move is even worse? I've already put years into this place. And maybe the most common one, isn't everyone kind of miserable at work? But there's a difference between reasons for staying and excuses for not leaving. It's time to get unstuck. It's time for Strawberry.me. They match you with a certified career coach who helps you go from where you are to where you actually want to be. Your coach helps you get clear on your goals, create a plan, build your confidence, and keeps you accountable along the way. So don't leave your career to chance. Take action and own your future with a professional coach in your corner. Go to strawberry.me slash unstuck to claim a special offer.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: What's in your life kit? I'm asking. They didn't ask that. Every day you have to make choices that might shape the direction of your life, but you can't flip to the back of the book to find an answer key. Instead, you can listen to the LifeKit podcast from NPR. LifeKit offers real stories about common issues like relationships, finances, parenting, and your career. If you're looking to move with more intention or just need thoughtful guidance on living better, LifeKit delivers strategies to help you make meaningful, sustainable change. From fitness routines to mental resilience, navigating personal goals to tackling burnout, each episode is full of relevant insights and clear takeaways about things we all could use a little help with. LifeKit wants to help you approach your own life with confidence and clarity and walk away with a game plan you can implement right away.
--:-- Colleen Berry: So I want to tell you the story about a brilliant writer and poet called William Wordsworth, who was English. And he lived in a beautiful part of England called the Lake District. And he wrote a guidebook about it. And he wrote in his guidebook that he wanted to object to a railway that was going to be planned to the Lake District because he felt it would bring too many tourists. And the date that he wrote this guidebook, 1810. So this is not a new phenomenon we're talking about.
--:-- Justin Francis: In 2000, he founded a company called Responsible Travel. Their whole thing is... Overtourism. It's a word that entered kind of the popular vocabulary around 2017. What is it? It's when we have uncontrolled and unmanaged tourism that goes so far that the quality of life of the people who live in the destination becomes degraded and the quality of the experience of the visitors becomes degraded. Often cruise destinations are a hotspot. Venice is one of those. Dubrovnik. It's become a sort of theme park. Either that or you have to get here really early in the morning, like at 5am so you can take good photos. Some of the national parks in the U.S. in peak periods are suffering from over-tourism. Officials there say hikers had to wait up to four hours just to enter certain trails. Little villages which have been film sets in movies suddenly finding local people cannot get into their town, the place they call home. The roads are just gridlocked by people taking photos.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: What are the drivers of overtourism? You mentioned movies. If a place was used in a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, chances are people are going to show up some time to see it. But what else is going on here? I mean, let's call it what it is, Sean. It's exploitation of a place by an industry. You know, it is out and out, an industry going in, taking what it can and running off with it. Local authorities, many local authorities are not set up, have not been set up to manage that. Or even to realise that tourism needed managing. They haven't realised the hidden cost in chasing the number of tourists. One million, I want two million, I want ten million. New Zealand. There's no place like it on Earth. In chasing that, they haven't recognised the hidden cost.
--:-- Justin Francis: One of the other big drivers has been the growth of holiday rentals. In a 2018 study, researchers said that Airbnb's presence in a market shrinks supply of long-term rentals, which results in price increases. Holiday rentals essentially take somewhere that could have been a place for a young person to rent or get their first home out of the housing market. and that of course causes massive inflation of the cost of finding somewhere to live and somewhere to rent. So it's lack of awareness, lack of management, growth of holiday rentals and social media which has rapidly drawn us to a smaller and smaller number of places. Sometimes in search of a photo of ourselves to build our personal brand more than the experience.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The perfect Eiffel Tower photo op does exist. The internet told me where to go, and I'm going. I traveled a lot, and I always took photos, but it was to remember the experience I had. But for some people now, the purpose for going is the photo itself. So I feel there's a bit of a battle for the soul of travel. For me it about experiences but I feel there a bit of a battle for the soul of travel there
--:-- Justin Francis: Do we risk sounding elitist or that we judgmental if we saying you know you should be taking a photo to remember a moment, not to build your personal brand, not to, you know, look glamorous in front of the Coliseum, whatever it might be? Definitely there's a risk of sounding elitist. But I'm going to stick with it a little bit. And I'm going to say that what I cherish about travel is fulfillment, rejuvenation, adventure, learning. Learning about people that are very different to me, sometimes realizing that actually we're more similar than we are different. And I do prize that. And if that sounds a little bit elitist, then I recognize the criticism. but I'm going to stand by what I think the real beauty of travel is.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: By all means, take a photo too. Gucci! Okay, so it doesn't sound like you're saying stop traveling. It sounds like you're saying travel differently. How does one travel differently, responsibly, ethically, whatever it might be? so I would encourage you to stay in a local hotel or accommodation that's locally owned rather than um holiday rental i know they're very popular i know they're very um affordable but a hotel is not going to take away a room from somebody who could have been renting it or or buying it so I'm going to encourage you to stay in a hotel or locally owned accommodation I'm going to encourage you to hire a local guide somebody from the community who will know how to avoid the crowds, who will know where to take you for a more enjoyable time, and will be able to advise you on any local sensitivities that you might not be aware of, you know, religious or cultural. So I think you'll get a better experience that way as a job for them, and I think it will help reduce tourism impacts.
--:-- Justin Francis: If you can, I'm going to encourage you to travel away from the peak season. Not always possible if you've got a family, but it'll take the pressure off the destination a little bit, I think you'll enjoy it more as well. And I'm also going to encourage you to spend a day or two of your trip away from the famous hotspot and go and visit somewhere else, perhaps less visited, perhaps it would welcome more tourists where you might see a bit more of real local life.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: What more can governments do as travel becomes cheaper, social media recommendations become more pervasive, and, you know, more and more people show up to the same spots? There are other things that tourism destinations can do. The most important thing is that tourism is planned in consultation with residents and people who live there, who are given a voice in the decision making about how tourism is run and managed. that they can say, we welcome tourists up until this point. And they could define a number of things, which if they were to see them and they would happen, they would say, this has gone too far.
--:-- Justin Francis: There are also places that have done that and decided they want less tourists. And they run what's effectively anti-marketing programs or de-marketing programs. Miami Beach releasing a new ad campaign. They are trying to break up with spring breakers. We need to talk. This isn't working anymore. They start to control access in some ways. Just so you know, we're serious. This March, you can expect things like curfews, bag checks and restricted beach access. DUI checkpoints, $100 parking. Reduced the number of the transport that's arriving, cut down the number of holiday rentals. So they've made an active decision to limit the number of tourists and to attract the type of tourists that they feel is most beneficial for them.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Now, I can hear your elitist question coming back strongly. But we need to balance the needs of tourists and local people. For all the people at home right now, it's early May, making their travel plans for the summer. maybe that they're late, who are thinking Venice, who are thinking Rome, who are thinking whatever it is, Barcelona, Amsterdam, all these places that might be too crowded. Where would you tell them to go instead? Let's blow up a different spot. Well, I'm going to blow up a completely different spot because over-terrorism, Big issue. Thank you for helping strengthen awareness of it. Other big issues. Climate change. Other big issues. Poverty. Other big issues. Loss of nature. so there are places that you can travel to that can contribute to jobs and education in places of real poverty and real need and you have a fantastic time i mean it could be parts of the caribbean it could be costa rica it could be parts of east africa where you can make a huge difference through your trip and if you're going into wild places the fact you are there and paying money to be there can help create the funding and the incentive to protect those forests and those wild areas and that's important because those trees absorb and sequester carbon so if you've decided no more big cities you want to have a fabulous time and do some good then i want to encourage you to go to those wild places stay in locally owned accommodation put your money into the hands of people who desperately needed to send their kids to school and i'm pretty sure you'll have an amazing time justin francis responsibletravel.com
--:-- Amanda Lewellyn: produced our show
Matt Collette: edited
Laura Bullard: fact-checked
Rob Byers: engineered
Sean Rameswaram: hosted
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Abishai Artsy, Victoria Chamberlain, Hadi Mawagdi, Halima Shah, Patrick Boyd, Miles Bryan, supervising editor, Amina Alsadi, the big boss, Miranda Kennedy, and the king. We use music by Breakmaster Cylinder, who's really loving the robots right now. Today Explained is distributed by WNYC. The show is part of Vox, which is totally free, thanks in part to contributions from our listeners. Join us if you can at vox.com slash give. Thank you. Gucci!
