Naga College Foundation

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Micro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Overtourism in Hibiscus Camp

(Case Study on how to rejuvenate a declining destination)

Group Members: Time/Day: TTH 4-5:30

Section: 1G
Danica Mae Encinas
Erika Jane Barbado

Emeriel C. Almuena
Insructor, Micro Perspective

INTRODUCTION:

Since the beginning of mass tourism in the 1960s, most destinations in the world have sought to
increase numbers of tourist arrivals (Hall, 2008). UNWTO defined tourism’s carrying Capacity as “the
maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing
destruction of the physical, economic and sociocultural. Environment and an unacceptable decrease in the
quality of visitors’ satisfaction”. Overtourism is a neologism that indicates the overcrowding of tourists
on a holiday destination. The term was first inserted in the Oxford dictionary in 2018 and nominated as
the year’s word. Overtourism, literally “too much tourism”, is a complex phenomenon that we should
analyze from various points of view. Overtourism is one of the words that people use most in recent
years. In effect, more and more often, tourist destinations suffer from overtourism, tourism overcrowding.
Overtourism: growth is not the enemy, it is how we manage it’ (UNWTO, 2017). Places that everyone
wants to see because they are “famous”. The famous tourist attractions in our country are usually
recognized by posting in social media which caused overcrowding. The global relevance of social media
and evaluation platforms in streamlining opinion and influencing demand, also as a result of mobile travel
applications offering cheap and convenient services to enhance destination experiences, such as language
translation, city guides, and maps; as well as new and inexpensive accommodation offers through AirBnB
and other online platforms (Guttentag, 2015).

BACKGROUND:

Crowding effect was originally developed as a concept describing emotions arising out of
perceived human density and resulting constraints (Stokols, 1972). Crowding as an issue for destinations
and in particular tourist sites has been a recurrent topic in tourism research since the early 1970s, i.e
Turner and Ash’s (1975) reference to ‘golden hordes’ and popularised through Doxey’s (1975) ‘Irritation
Index’. Later, Social Exchange Theory (Emerson, 1976) became the starting point for tourism studies
focused on issues of human interaction and exchange specifically in leisure contexts, highlighted that
tourist numbers can become a source of ‘incompatibility’ between residents and outsiders (Ap, 1992;
Neuts & Nijkamp, 2012; Ward & Berno, 2011). With regard to tourist perceptions, there is general
agreement that crowding is situational and depends on individual norms and values, as well as the
perceived characteristics of other tourists. Tourists associate crowding with waiting, stress, or specific
(negative) destination qualities (Patterson & Hammitt, 1990; Perdue et al., 1999; Riganti & Nijkamp,
2008; Stewart & Cole, 2001). It has been highlighted that crowding can also be positive (Choi, Mirjafari,
& Weaver, 1976). This insight, which Neuts and Nijkamp (2012) emphasise has been mostly overlooked,
is potentially of growing relevance in tourism (see also Popp, 2012). Notions of ‘being in the right place’
in the wider context of ‘following’ trends have gained importance because of information cascades and
the concentration of news flows in the age of social media (Turkle, 2015), as well as an increasing focus
by consumers on the acquisition of unique experiences, rather than material possessions as markers of
identity (Addis & Holbrook, 2001). Specific sites may become increasingly attractive as a result of
discussions in social media channels, or as recipients of high numbers of ‘like’ or positive evaluations on
platforms such as TripAdvisor.

Five years ago, photos at Hibiscus Camp has been left and right in different social media. It is a
private owned place, until someone posted about it on social media and how to get there. Since then,
many people have been visiting the place and mostly, came from far places so they didn’t have much
choice but to open it to the public. The place became the new tourist destination in Camarines Sur as well
as place for photoshoot. But looking at the positive light, millennials became tourism promoters and
advocates themselves for every post counts as a promotion especially those who posted guides on how to
get there.Five years ago, photos at Hibiscus Camp has been left and right in different social media. It is a
private owned place, until someone posted about it on social media and how to get there. Since then,
many people have been visiting the place and mostly, came from far places so they didn’t have much
choice but to open it to the public. The place became the new tourist destination in Camarines Sur as well
as place for photoshoot. But looking at the positive light, millennials became tourism promoters and
advocates themselves for every post counts as a promotion especially those who posted guides on how to
get there.
 The Hibiscus Camp Is owned by Dra. Dada Briones-Llaguno. The owner loves Gumamela
flowers which has the scientific name “hibiscus rosa sinensis” thus, giving the place the name “Hibiscus”.
She built the place for relaxation and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Being a tourist destination was never
part of the plan but due to the influx of tourists visiting everyday, they made it as their new business.
They now ask an entrance fee of P100.00 per head and P1,000.00 for cottages. However, camping and
overnight stay is still not yet available. There are also mini coffee shop, restaurant, pizza parlor and
swimming pool. You can sit and picnic in the grass, the owner also advised to bring your own tent
without additional charge. People who come enjoys the place with everyone, swim, take pictures and
roam around. There is a Chapel to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself. A sanctuary to those
who wish to pray.

As a traveller who loves to visit different kinds of destinations. I am always expecting that the
destination I want to visit will be relaxing and refreshing. It is disappointing when you come over there
only to be exhausted about the overcrowding of the place. So, we decided to do this case study in attempt
to understand the nature of the problem at hand, and to identify specific solution which can fix the
overtourism of the place.

According to the previous tourists of Hibiscus Camp, these has been a problem for several years.
Hibiscus Camp doesn’t allow booking and reservation which caused the overcrowding of the place. They
don’t also notice the public if they’re already fully occupied. Tourist from different places comes to
enjoy the scenery of the place and relax themselves. After traveling hours just to get in Hibiscus Camp
then they will only encounter an overcrowded place. Tourist has no idea if there are still cottages and
space for them. That’s why the destination has always been overcrowded.

SOLUTION:

In this study, we look at ways to improve visitor experiences to ensure a meaningful visit even
when a destination is at its busiest. No matter how we try to manage demand, some destinations will
always be very popular, particularly at peak times. There’s also a degree to which overcrowding is a
perception. Some might consider a place ‘too crowded’ whilst others wouldn’t find it a problem. So, aside
from trying to manage the numbers of visitors, part of the solution is about managing the visitor
experience to ensure it doesn’t feel crowded. Here are a number of ways to do this:

 Allow reservation/ booking

Reservation will save the tourist time and effort, because they will not need to wait for hours
until the tourist spot team confirms their reservation. An online booking will give a freedom to
potential tourist to book a cottage and room anytime they want. It also maximises the sales of the
tourist spot because it will not limit the working hours. In fact, studies show that a 24/7 online
reservation system greatly increases the number of bookings and minimize the tourist.

 Accommodate tourist according to its capacity

Accommodating tourist according to the place capacity will help to resolve the problem of an
overcrowded place. It will also help the other tourist to feel relaxed and not overcrowed.

 Post or notice the public if it’s already full occupied

Using social media, the management can inform the public whether they are fully occupied, this
will help to reduce the chance of overcrowding the place.
  Manage the flows
The way people journey around an attraction or through a destination can also lead to congestion.
Often there’s a designated route and everyone follows the same journey. This creates bottlenecks,
as some move more slowly than others. At its most basic, flow management involves literally
closing a door and stopping people moving to the next stage of the visit until those ahead move
on. But for places where there are multiple potential journeys, offering a range of ways and places
to start and finish a visit can drastically reduce the impression of congestion.

Conclusion:

Keeping the place uncrowded was the biggest challenge. We found that we can resolve the
problem in Hibiscus Camp by allowing reservation and booking, accommodating tourist according
to its capacity, noticing the public if it’s fully occupied, and managing the flows. These solutions
helped the tourist spot to prevent overcrowding in their place. It was implement a year ago.
According to the recent visitors, the place was already uncrowded. New strategies to combat
overcrowding were adapted in few years ago and the Hibiscus Camp hopes that the overcrowding
will not happen again to their place.

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