Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the third film in its four-week Sustainable Tourism Film Series. “Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will show on Thursday, Sept. 22 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre at 4 p.m. The event will also include a selection of “Sustainable Travel: Where Next?” short films along with a panel discussion.
“Crowded Out” is a powerful short documentary exploring overtourism, featuring interviews with local residents and global experts.
Overtourism occurs when there are too many visitors to a particular destination. When rent prices push out local tenants to make way for holiday rentals, when narrow roads become jammed with tourist vehicles, when tourists cannot view landmarks because of the crowds – these are all signs of overtourism.
And it is the backlash from local residents that has made overtourism news. Cities such as Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik, and places once thought of as remote such as Iceland and Skye have suffered firsthand, and the protests by local residents have spread.
There has been decades of virtually uncontrolled growth, and it has crossed a threshold: in many destinations, tourism now demonstrably creates more problems than benefits.
This special event will also include a selection of short films from “Sustainable Travel: Where Next?” This series includes short-form documentary films, featuring insightful stories from the global travel and tourism sector showing how they are driving sustainable travel and protecting these precious destinations.
Following the screenings, there will be a panel discussion with representatives the City of Sedona, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, Keep Sedona Beautiful and the tourism and hospitality industry here.
Join us for a riveting and insightful afternoon of films and dialogue.
The remaining film in the Sustainable Tourism Series is:
Thursday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. “Vendemmia”
“Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.