The world’s most fragile wonders are being loved to death.
There is a sad and growing paradox in the world of travel: the more we love a place, the more we risk destroying it. A handful of the world’s most iconic and fragile “bucket-list” destinations have become so overwhelmed by their own popularity that they are being forced to “close their doors” to the very tourists who adore them. This closure is not always literal, but it is a conscious and necessary move to protect these treasures.
It is a desperate attempt to save these places from being completely consumed by our collective desire to see them.
1. Maya Bay in Thailand was literally closed to the public for years.
Made famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “The Beach,” Maya Bay became so popular that the sheer number of tourist boats and visitors completely destroyed the coral reef and the local ecosystem. The damage was so severe that Thai authorities took the drastic and unprecedented step of closing the bay completely for nearly four years to allow it to recover, as mentioned in Bucket List Travels.
It has since reopened, but with very strict limits on the number of visitors, a ban on swimming, and a designated boardwalk to keep people off the sand. It is a powerful lesson in the destructive power of mass tourism.
2. Machu Picchu in Peru now has a strict time-slot system.
The ancient Incan citadel of Machu Picchu is another world wonder that was being threatened by its own popularity. The massive number of visitors was causing a rapid erosion of the site’s delicate stone structures. To manage the crowds and to preserve the site, the Peruvian government has implemented a very strict ticketing system with designated, one-hour entry time slots and a series of rigid, one-way circuits that all visitors must follow, as shared in The Sydney Morning Herald.
The days of being able to freely wander and explore the site for an entire day are long gone. It is a necessary but significant restriction on the visitor experience.
3. Boracay in the Philippines was also shut down for a massive cleanup.
The beautiful Philippine island of Boracay, famous for its stunning White Beach, was another destination that was forced to close its doors. The island’s rapid and unregulated development had turned it into what the country’s own president called a “cesspool,” with raw sewage being pumped directly into the water, according to Condé Nast Traveler. In 2018, the government shut the entire island down to all tourists for six months.
This drastic closure allowed for a massive environmental cleanup and the implementation of a host of new, stricter regulations for hotels and businesses. The island has since reopened, but with a firm cap on the number of daily visitors.
4. The Acropolis in Athens has a new daily visitor cap.
The iconic Acropolis in Athens, one of the most important archaeological sites in the Western world, has been struggling for years with overwhelming crowds, especially during the summer cruise ship season. The sheer volume of foot traffic has been causing damage to the 2,500-year-old monuments. In response, the Greek government has finally implemented a strict daily visitor cap.
A new, mandatory time-slot system is now in place to spread the visitors out throughout the day and to limit the total number to 20,000. This means that a spontaneous visit is no longer possible, and advance booking is essential.
5. The hiking trails of the Cinque Terre in Italy are being limited.
The five picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre are connected by a series of beautiful but very narrow and fragile coastal hiking trails. The trails have become so popular that the overcrowding has become a safety issue and is causing severe erosion. To combat this, the Cinque Terre National Park has been implementing and tightening a system that limits access to the trails.
To hike on the most popular sections, you now need to purchase a “Cinque Terre Trekking Card,” and the park has announced plans to limit the number of cards that are sold each day, effectively closing the trail when it reaches its capacity.
6. Lord Howe Island in Australia is exclusive by design.
This stunningly beautiful, UNESCO World Heritage-listed island off the coast of Australia is a unique example of a destination that has always kept its doors semi-closed. To protect the island’s incredibly pristine and fragile ecosystem, which is home to a huge number of unique and endemic species, there is a permanent and legally enforced cap on the number of tourists allowed on the island at any one time.
Only 400 visitors are allowed to be on the island at any given moment. This has preserved the island in a near-perfect state, but it has also made it a very exclusive and expensive destination to visit.
7. Antarctica’s future is one of increasing restriction.
While it is not closing its doors completely, the ability to visit the pristine wilderness of Antarctica is becoming more and more restricted. The international treaty that governs the continent is under pressure to implement stricter regulations on the growing tourism industry to protect the fragile Antarctic environment. This is likely to include new limits on the number of ships and passengers allowed to visit.
At the same time, the cost of an Antarctic cruise is soaring, a reflection of the high operational costs and the growing demand. This is making the continent a destination that is financially “closing its doors” to all but the wealthiest travelers.