To Minimize Overtourism, Consider Ashamedly Turning Some Urban Areas Tourists-Only

Milan is not a cheap city for tourists who want an "authentic" experience. The "Milanese" restaurants near the city's famed cathedral and canals exchange beautiful views, beautiful interiors, and beautiful food in exchange for small portions and prices that can easily hit 35-40 Euros for a moderately hungry person. In the well-trafficked old city, even a takeout sandwich can be as much as 9 Euros. With entrance fees, public transport, and hotels, a visitor can easily spend 200 Euros per day without tasting any proper luxury.

But with some research into areas few tourists venture into, one can still find budget-friendly options. In particular, the city's emerging Chinatown serves up set meals of rice, noodles, and dumplings for 5-6 Euros per person, drawing plenty of not just Asian immigrants living in the city but local youths eager to not just taste a different culture but also just looking for a way to eat out on a tight budget. It is good to know that one can still have some fun in the city without busting budgets all the time.

The contrast between the expensive tourist spots and the cheap local haunts shows that perhaps, geographical segregation of tourism can help reduce residents' complaints about overtourism. If locals do not go where the tourists go, there is little need to talk about how real estate prices are increasing, or that the streets are too crowded. With the emergence of the "tourist city," the Milanese can find a relatively inexpensive way to live, with the only real sacrifice being unable to be in touch with the city's beloved physical reminders of history day in and day out.

In exchange for this decidedly minor inconvenience for residents, Milan can maximize the commercial benefits of mass tourism. Tourists may complain about the expensive meals, tickets, and hotels. But given Milan's global fame, plenty still come and plenty of online information is available to warn future comers of the prices. Those who simply do not have the means to visit need not come, saving Milan from being overly crowded with those who barely consume.

The experience of Milan can be a good reference to popular tourist destinations in two ways. One is ensuring tourists stay where tourists are. Milan outside the tourist zones is a beautiful but decidedly normal city with little to see and do for first-time visitors. It seems to make plenty of sense to keep it this way. A city of a few highlights surrounded by boring residential areas demotivates even the most authenticity-seeking tourists from getting anything interesting out of going off the beaten path.

Two is pursuing a strategy of attracting "high quality" visitors without angering locals. If locals would never consider going to tourist-oriented restaurants and bars in tourist-oriented areas of the city, those establishments can charge prices as eye-watering as they please without attracting persistent negative attention. The self-selection of those who visit Milan means that no one sees the profit-maximizing behavior within the tourist areas as unexpected or undesirable.

Is the Milanese model replicable everywhere? Absolutely not. Plenty of places in the world label themselves "lifestyle destinations" that bank on the friendliness of the locals or the novelty of cultural practices to draw in visitors. These places have to continue creating a way for truly local experiences to be accessible, both geographically and financially, to remain popular and beloved. Tourists there expect to go where locals, do what they do, and pay what they pay.

But plenty more destinations are like Milan, drawing visitors based on a few architectural sights and museums that take up a small physical space. For these destinations, it may be wise to be ashamedly touristic where the main sights are, invest in their upkeep, and provide plenty of excitement for visitors. This way, visitors will have little time and energy to go elsewhere, and if they do, they will be unimpressed by the low-key residents-centered urban planning.