hordes Archives - usatoday24

swapping hordes of tourists for undersea cables

November 5, 2025 by usatoday24

If the capitals of the countries are the cornerstone on which their economies revolve, in Portugal there is not much debate, although there is a certain amount of boredom. Years ago, Lisbon set out to be a tourist capital, and this summer it has been confirmed that it has become the biggest tourist hell of Europe with the price of housing shot while the urban center lost a good part of its population. But Portugal has a simple but difficult plan to execute: exchange submarine cables for tourists. The new horizon. Sinesa seemingly modest coastal municipality, is once again at the center of Portugal’s strategic ambitions. After decades in which tourism became the country’s main economic engine (representing almost a quarter of GDP) the Portuguese government is now seeking to rebalance its production model attracted by an opportunity that mixes geography and technology. As? Sines is the point where they land and take off submarine cables that connect Europe with America and Africaand that will soon also link with the United States through of one line from Google to South Carolina. Portugal as a data center. This combination of global connectivity, available space and energy infrastructure has promoted the development of projects such as a mega data center 8.5 billion eurosa battery factory of 2,000 million and the expansion of the deep-sea port managed by the Port Authority of Singapore, investments equivalent to 4.6% of GDP of the country that could generate more than 5,000 jobs. For Lisbon, Sines is not an experiment, but the link that could transform the Portuguese economy into an Atlantic logistics and technological platform. The Google cable that will connect the US with Portugal and the rest of Europe Ambitions interrupted. However, the municipality carries a legacy of promises that were not kept. In the 70s, the authoritarian regime tried to convert it in the industrial hub of the country, building a commercial port, a refinery and an energy plant with the expectation of processing fuels from the Portuguese colonial empire. After the Revolution of 1974 and the loss of the colonies, the project deflated: the port was underutilized, the refinery survived with difficulty and the power plant ended closing in 2021 due to the cheaper renewable energy. The region grew up expecting a boom that never materialized and many of the newcomers ended up leaving. That memory weighs heavily today on the minds of its inhabitants, who observe this new wave of investments with a mixture of excitement and caution. Pressure. Bloomberg counted that the arrival of thousands of workers linked to the construction of new data centers, factories and port expansions is straining the urban fabric of a city that remains small and with limited services. The housing supply is insufficient, some workers sleep in cars and residential projects are advancing slowly due to lack of financing. Basic services (schools, health centers, municipal infrastructure) show signs of saturation. This mismatch between investment and life support fuels the fundamental doubt: whether Sines This time it will be a city that retains wealth or if, as in the past, the activity will arrive, the works will be completed and the value generated will once again go to other regions and companies. Start Sines Campus Logistics hub. As we said, the port of sines occupies a strategic position between Europe, Africa and America, and its expansion seeks to go from being a transshipment point between ships to becoming a port that introduces goods towards the interior of the peninsula. But this transition requires rapid connections with Spain and central Europe, and the road corridor to the border It is incomplete and does not exist a passenger rail connection, while freight transport is slow. Solution? The government is studying improvements that would cut up to three hours logistics routes to Spain, which would allow it to compete with ports such as Valencia or Algeciras. Transport infrastructure is therefore the real turning point: without it, Sines will remain a peripheral port, but with it, it could become one of the central pieces of European Atlantic trade. Technology, energy and capital. The new projects in Sines are marked by international investment. The data center Start Campus operates with renewable energy and has secured 1.2 gigawatts (a capacity comparable to Lisbon’s consumption) by reusing cooling systems from the old thermal power plant using seawater. The CALB battery plant, partially controlled by Chinese capital, will receive up to 350 million euros in public support and aims to produce batteries for 200,000 electric vehicles per year by 2028. The combination of available clean energy, seawater for cooling, physical space and direct access to submarine cables makes Sines a privileged node in a world where digital infrastructure weighs as much as industrial infrastructure. The great opportunity. For many inhabitants, this transformation may be the opportunity that never camebut for others, it is a new cycle in which large companies will take center stage and the local community will be left out. The difference between one result and another will depend on three levers: accessible housing, infrastructure that connects Sines with the rest of the country and the State’s ability to capture and redistribute the value generated. Thus, what is at stake is not only the future of a coastal citybut the Portuguese economic model as a whole: if the municipality goes from being a tourist landscape and a transit port to becoming a European technological and logistical node, the country could leave behind decades of dependence on tourism as an economic monoculture On the other hand, if he doesn’t, Sines will once again be a symbol of unfulfilled promises. Image | Kalboz, MaritimeGoogle In Xataka | Years ago, Lisbon set out to be a tourist capital. Now it has become the biggest tourist hell in Europe In Xataka | If the question is “can a country sustain itself with renewable energy alone”, the answer is right here: Portugal

Japan is saturating from the hordes of foreign tourists. So in the country they have begun to give them free flights

August 14, 2025 by usatoday24

Japan is filling with tourists. Only during the first half of the year added 21.5 million of foreign visitors, 21% more than during the same period of 2024. There are many. Many. Enough to he overwhelming It has become a Debate theme priority and be giving wings to the formation of extreme right Sanseitō, who managed to stand out in the July elections with the motto “Japan first”. The problem is that, far from being distributed in the country, that tide of visitors is concentrated in certain mass points. There are those who want to solve it giving flights To tourists. What happened? That Japan Airlines (JAL), one of Japan’s main airlines, has had An idea peculiar so that foreign tourism becomes more bearable to the country’s mass destinations: give tickets. Literally. The idea is that foreigners visiting Japan have free flights that encourage them to go beyond Tokyo or Osaka and explore less known corners, such as Sapporo, Naha either Hakuba. The goal is double: relieve pressure at the busiest points in the country and, incidentally, give a small push to foreigners to visit places that would never include in their itineraries. What do they propose? The first thing to clarify is that it is not a new campaign. Aviation Wire I already talked about her in October 2024but with mass tourism in the center of the debate and Japan turned into one of the most demanded destinations in the world, the campaign has gained popularity again. In recent weeks, media have talked about it as Soranews24, Time out or the specialized website Travel and Tour Worldconfirming that the initiative was launched in autumn without completion date. The idea too He has echoed in Spain. What are your details? The campaign consists of giving national flights to foreign tourists so that they can move through Japan, although (as usually happens) it has a small print. It is not available for all visitors and even those who can opt for it must meet before A series of requirements. From the entry the offer is available to users of certain countries, such as the United States, Canada, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Vietnam or the Philippines, inter alia. In addition, the beneficiary travelers must reserve on their own the international round trip from their country of origin. Once in Japan it is when they can opt for one of the national tickets of JAL promotion, which must include in the same reserve. TTW precise An extra detail that demonstrates how the campaign aspires to relieve pressure in the most busy cities in the country: those visitors flying from the US, Canada, Mexico or China and decide to remain more than 24 hours in the city where they land (usually tokyo) must pay a rate of $ 100. Why is it important? Beyond the details of the campaign or if it really goes on account or not foreign tourists, Jal’s idea is interesting for another reason: it shows Japan’s attempts to make tourists’ avalanche more assumed and do not saturate its most popular destinations. That the initiative has had so much impact is also explained by who spears it: Japan Airlines is one of the main country airlines and on its website presume that your group has a total of 133 national routes and 66 international connections. This wide network of domestic connections is what intends to take advantage of foreigners explore places in the country less popular than Tokyo or the Las Geishas neighborhood of Kyoto, like ski slopes of Nisekothe reefs of Okinawathe mountains of Hakuba either Tomamu or the natural landscapes of Hearbetween a long (very long) and so on. In his favor he has the Encrying From Japan Rail Pass (JRP), which makes the plane win attractive in determining routes. So much tourism in Japan? Yes. The latest official statistics show that during the first half of the year he received 21.5 million of foreign tourists, a surprising fact for two reasons. The first, because it is a record for the country. The second, because it represents an increase of 21% with respect to the same semester of 2024, which gives an idea of the accelerated rhythm to which the sector is growing. Only in June the flow of foreign visitors grew by 7.6%. That boom has come accompanied by the arrival of Millions of dollarsbut has also submitted to the country (especially the most massive destinations) to A pressure that has electorally fed the formation of the extreme right Sanseito, which relies on A speech antituristic and antimigratory. The clearest example of that overwhelming It is located in three busy places: the Fuji, where They have started to charge a rate; The neighborhood of the Geishas de Kyoto, where They have prohibited to “paparazzi tourists”; And Fujikawaguchiko, who has had to cover his views to avoid the hordes of tourists to hunt the best Selfie. Does it work to give flights? It does not seem. As the statistics demonstrate, Japan continues to win tourists and Tokyo remains in The lists of the busiest places. The director of JapaneseLaura Tomàs, acknowledges in An interview with The confidential that the campaign also has some clear weak points. “The routes do not always fit the schedules, the information is not clearly communicated and in many cases the tourist ends up opting for the known.” Images | Matt Cramblett (UNSPLASH), Nomadic Julien (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Japan will copy Venice to stop mass tourism. Two levels of transport price: the tourist pays more

Venice established a rate to combat tourism hordes. Japan has copied the strategy: the one that arrives, pays

May 5, 2025 by usatoday24

It happened recently with the arrival of the “Holy Week.” Venice enhanced a little more That pioneering toll years ago. The figures that threw the input rate had gone so well, that the city He folded his price. A measure for which Italy sought to restore the balance between the rights of residents and the massive arrival of visitors. A nation has followed the popular enclave: Japan. Mass tourism and fiscal burden. We have been telling: Japan does not stop Receive touristsand given the unstoppable increase, a growing number of Japanese municipalities It has begun To look at the rates used in other enclaves Like Venice: Implement specific taxes for foreigners, in an effort to compensate for the growing costs that tourism activity imposes on local communities. According to Nikkeithese measures mainly include accommodation taxes per night, but are also expanding towards more innovative taxation forms that seek to exclude local payment residents, applying the principle of “who causes, pays.” The objective is clear: preserve fiscal viability of towns and cities that face a reverse demographic pressure (populations in decline in front of booming tourism) and sustain fundamental public services without moving the burden to those who live there permanently. Accommodation tax. Since Tokyo pioneered a pioneer fixed tax per person And by night in the accommodations, others 11 locations They have joined, the most recent of them Atamiin the prefecture of Shizuoka, which began to collect a tribute from 200 yen per night April 1. This tax, which will generate about 600 million annual yen, will serve to finance the new Atami Tourism Office and local activities such as fireworks festivals. The model adopted by most cities consists of fixed rates, staggered depending on the price of accommodation, to facilitate their collection and minimize the administrative load on hotels and hosts. However, there is a unique case with Kutchanin Hokkaido, which since 2019 imposes A 2% tax On the cost of accommodation in its resort area, a pioneering measure that other municipalities, such as Rusutsuthey study to replicate. Miyajima and the model. One of the most significant developments has been the tax applied by Hatsukaichi for access the island of Miyajimathat since October 2023 gravel with 100 additional yen to each ferry passenger. The measure, inspired by the principle of the so -called as “cause pays”seeks that visitors (not residents) absorb the costs derived from their presence, such as waste management, traffic and water and sewerage services. Unlike other rates aimed at promoting tourism, this is a general tax that can be used for any area of the local budget. With a population of just 1,400 people and 4.85 million visitors in 2024, Miyajima was has become a symbol how mass tourism can overflow the operational capacity of a heritage enclave without adequate corrective measures. Biei: Combined taxes. Another illustrative case occurs in Bieialso in Hokkaido, who proposed A double taxation to balance the impact of tourists: a 200 yen accommodation tax per night and a parking charge in the Shirogane Blue Parkone of its main tourist attractions. With 2.39 million visitors in 2023 but only 158,000 overnight stays, most tourists are one -day hikers, which motivated A mixed scheme For everyone to contribute. Both measures are expected to collect more than 239 million annual yenresources that will be used both to maintain services and to support agricultural policies, in an attempt to reinforce the local economy from multiple fronts. Challenges and risks. As both prefectures and municipalities adopt their own variants of these taxes, new challenges arise, including the double taxation risk in areas where regional and local rates coincide. In addition, given that the fiscal performance of these measures depends directly on the concentration of accommodation facilities, the regions with the highest proportion of visitors without prolonged stay can be at a disadvantage, accentuating territorial inequalities. Solution? Some local governments (such as Sadoin Niigata) have considered alternatives such as Input taxes generalized to the island, which would simplify the collection and guarantee a more equitable distribution of the tax burden between short and long -term visitors. Local response to a global phenomenon. In short, the backdrop of this proliferation of tourist rates is still A paradox Increasingly common: destinations of international fame that at the same time face the collapse of their resident population and the overload of their services for the massive influx of those tourists once longed for their economies. As He counted in Nikkei Mneaki AokiProfessor at the University of Kanagawa and advisor to the tax systems of Miyajima and Biei, the “cause pays” adapts well to places where tourists exceed largely in number to the permanent inhabitants. Faced with tourism as a blessing and burden, these mechanisms seek a more pragmatic solution: conserve hospitality without sacrificing tax sustainability (or local quality of life). In that sense, Japan, with its meticulous normative approach, becomes a RARE Av of policy laboratory that could inspire other countries under the same dilemma, going from “copying” Enclaves like Venice to become a pioneer with their own initiatives. Image | Pexels In Xataka | Venice has just activated his plan against mass tourism: an entry rate that doubles its price In Xataka | Japan has realized that to welcome 60 million tourists, something lacks: workers in the hotels

The Canary Islands have seven islands, but only one has escaped from the hordes of tourists. His secret is on earth, literally

April 22, 2025 by usatoday24

The Canarian archipelago is officially seven islands: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. In addition, we have four islets and a series of Roques (next to a centenary dispute for tiny lands, although that It is another story). The curious thing about the islands is that almost all, to a greater or lesser extent, have ended under the influence of mass tourism. With the exception of one, whose nature gave an “advantage” over the rest: iron. Shine without looking for it. Ironthe smallest, western, less visited and better preserved from all the Canary Islands, has begun to attract the attention of a time to this part, although surely, despite many stores. First was the Netflix series Iron in 2019 the one that put it on the audiovisual map. Later, during the pandemic, he once again occupied headlines in half the world. The reasons: to be one of the first territories of Spain in get out of confinement In June 2020, and for having registered alone A COVID-19 case during the health crisis. Thus came the international recommendations that placed it between the Best destinations in Europe In 2021, but the island continues as is, it has barely changed its leisurely way of life, or its resistance to the transformations that did shape the rest of the archipelago in recent decades. His secret is a paradox: What does not have He does it more strong to the hordes. The island of “No”. The peculiarity of the island resides in what it has decided Do not have: Without chain hotels, without tourist complexes, without elevators or buildings of more than two floors, the island also does not have extensive beaches, although it possesses A network of puddles (natural pools) of an incomparable beauty. Here its geography is key, since reaching it outside the archipelago already implies at least two journeys (by plane, via Tenerife or Gran Canaria, or in Ferry, via Tenerife), since there are no direct international flights or maritime connections from the peninsula or abroad. With just 11,000 inhabitants And a surface that is equivalent to half of Ibiza, the traffic is very small and the sensation remains to be in a territory where modernity has barely touched essential things. And yet, since 2018, iron almost completely self-abused with renewable energies, thanks to its hydro-eolic power plant Gorona del Vientoconsolidating itself as a world reference in sustainability. Indomitable nature. While the major islands of the Canarian archipelago face a growing social resistance to the Mass tourismIron has deliberately adopted a radically different model. Instead of joining the urbanization spiral, direct flights and mass tourism, the island has opted for a strategy of leisurely growthintegral sustainability and an intimate bond with nature. Arising from the ocean 1.2 million years ago For violent underwater eruptions, the island displays an abrupt and wild geography where impressive cliffs, volcanic boilers and dense laurisilva forests coexist with undulating meadows, centenary pine forests and abrupt black rock costs that make it a paradise for hiking, contemplation and, ultimately, an unstable instance. To get an idea, in 2023 Just 20,300 visitors They arrived on the island (in contrast to the more than 6.5 million that Tenerife receivedFor example). Sabinar Tourism to last. There is more, of course. As we said before, since 1997, iron develops an ambitious Sustainable Development Plan which has oriented its tourist model towards a way of traveling with limited impact, focused on the valuation of the natural environment and local culture. They have been created Seven Visitors and Museums CentersInfrastructure has been improved without breaking the landscape balance (the first asphalted road came in 1962 and even today there is only one traffic light), and activities that privilege contact with the environment have been encouraged. In this regard, Davinia Suárez Armas, insular director of Tourism and Transportation, summed up the BBC The spirit of the island: grow without deteriorating the quality of life of residents or compromising their natural resources. In fact, it is possible to travel in less than an hour from the warm coast of the South to the Capital of Valverdecrossing microclimates ranging from arid plains to humid fog forests, where more than a hundred endemic species thrive, including criticism El Hierro giant lizardwhich motivated the entire island to be declared Biosphere Reserve in 2000 and Geoparque in 2014 for Unesco. Resistance symbols. Among closed curves, volcanic landscapes and pastures whipped by the wind, it appears The pasturewhere the most famous trees of the enclave grow: the Sabinares twisted for centuries of Alisios winds, turned into living symbols of the Herreña resistance. In that sense, self -sufficiency has been part of the island DNA since the arrival of The bimbachesBerber people settled around 120. Without rivers or natural lakes, they learned to collect water from the fog, especially from legendary tree Garoéwhose location is traveled today through the Water route. Plus: this 16 -kilometer circular path San Andrés connectsthe tallest town on the island, with deposits, aljibes and remains of primitive hydraulic technologies, all witnesses of a history marked by water scarcity and migratory waves, especially towards Venezuela. The Virgin Downfour -year party dedicated to the Virgen de los Reyes (who, according to tradition, ended the Great drought from 1741), keeps that spiritual legacy that mixes need and faith alive. Self -sufficiency. In 2014, the island opened Gorona del Vientothe pioneer central that combines wind and hydraulic energy thanks to its privileged geography. The system pumps desalted water from a coastal deposit to a volcanic boiler at 700 meters of altitude when there is a surplus of wind, and releases that flow in times without wind to generate electricity with hydraulic turbines. In August 2015, he first managed to supply the entire island for four hours. In 2024, he beat a global record: 24 consecutive days operating exclusively with clean energy, which avoided the emission of 13,708 tons of CO₂ and the consumption of more than 4,500 tons of diesel. Yet, Climate change … Read more

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