Nowadays, cultural places and monuments are assaulted by tourists and travelers, and, on the other hand, do not host many visits from local residents. What are the underlying causes for this phenomenom, and what measures can be taken to encourage locals to visit historical sites ?
On the one hand, it is common knowledge that some countries’ cultural places and monuments suffer from a huge traffic of people : the pyramid of Keops, for example, hosts no less than millions of visitors each year. According to statistics from the Egyptian Council, 90% of visitors of the pyramid are tourists. In fact, the only locals that can be seen at the site are ambulant vendors and camel owners. This massive affluence of travelers are the primary factor which explains why residents avoid crowded historical sites. On the other hand, museums and cultural monuments follow the law of offer and demand. Therefore, entry fees are aligned to tourists’ purchase power and budget, which is often much higher than the country’s daily life cost. Consequently, locals cannot afford to pay visits to their own historical sites.
Those arguments lead to my second point : what can be implemented in order to incentivate local residents to visit historical and cultural monuments ? Firstly, establishing cheaper entrance fees for locals is a measure that has already proved to be efficient. For example, in Tenerife, Canaries’ residents benefit from a free access to visit Mount Teide, the national symbol of nature and mythology, thereby leading to a significant increase in visits from local residents. Secondly, tourism affluence could be controlled, establishing special days and hours reserved to local visits. This measure would, in my opinion, reduce the crowdedness of historical sites and museums, and therefore guarantee a better visiting experience.
In a nutshell, I believe that tourism control and reduced entrance fees for locals are key to incentivate local residents to pay visits to cultural places.