The coronavirus pandemic has forced famous tourist destinations to question their business model, although economic realities are likely to stand in the way of major changes.

Nature has quickly replaced hordes of visitors to places like Machu Picchu in Peru, where the sightings of elusive Andean bears have caused a stir among conservationists.

And in Thailand, where arrivals have declined by more than 83%, marine fauna including dugongs, turtles and whale sharks are recovering.

The Thai government has decided to close and restrict access to more than 150 national parks for an average of three months each year to allow animal and plant life to flourish.

“From now on we want quality tourism, we don’t want a massive influx of tourists into our national parks,” said Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister for Natural Resources and Environment in Thailand.

Visitor fees might have to go up to make up for the loss of income, but “it’s the price we have to pay” to conserve natural resources, he said.

Access to Machu Picchu has also been restricted and the Peruvian authorities are considering how to develop a more exclusive model.

Darwin Mayor Darwin Baca hopes that tourists can be persuaded to stay longer, for example through guided visits to natural sites like waterfalls while they wait to see Machu Picchu.

The website typically raises about $ 5.5 billion (RM 22.28 billion) per year, according to official estimates.

Jean-Francois Rial, head of the travel agency Voyageurs du Monde, thought it was possible to “educate” visitors, to look for less known places or to visit outside the high season.

Officials in Dubrovnik, Croatia, typical of the effects of excessive tourism, want to lure tourists to places outside the walls of the narrow medieval city.

They also want to “make Dubrovnik a destination of excellence and sustainable tourism,” said Ana Hrnic, director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board.

The pandemic could turn out to be an “opportunity for more responsible tourism” in the long term, said Damien Chaney, a marketing professor at the French business school EM Normandy.

“In general, for radical solutions to emerge, it takes an external shock like Covid-19,” he noted.

But for many, tourism is a big, often vital business.

In Tunisia, where it accounts for 14% of the gross domestic product, the number of visitors to the island of Djerba has decreased by 80%.

“All the indicators are flashing red,” said Hichem Mehouachi, the region’s tourism commissioner.

In Barcelona, ​​Spain, most restaurants near the famous Sagrada Familia basilica or along the well-trodden Las Ramblas have closed or are struggling to make ends meet without tourists.

“Tourism kicked local residents out and now that the tourists are gone, there is nothing left,” said Marti Cuso, a social worker who fights against tourists who invade downtown.

Pablo Diaz, Professor of Economics at the Open University of Catalonia, added: “Covid-19 has proven that reliance on tourism is turning some areas into a desert.”

Guido Moltedo, founder of the Italian news website Ytali, has launched a petition asking Venice museums to reopen and deliberate on the future of the city and its cultural vision.

Six thousand people have signed it so far.

“The city is on its knees,” warns Moltedo.

But Venice, like other tourist destinations, would find it difficult for around 65% of its residents to do without the main source of income.

“Every little bar here makes 3,000 euros a day, the city is addicting,” said Moltedo.

“It is true that mass tourism is sometimes a problem in Venice, but no tourism is worse,” said Claudio Scarpa, head of the local hotel association.

Diaz is concerned that once health restrictions are lifted, things will go back to where they were in Catalonia.

“Even in cities like Barcelona, ​​where there were too many tourists and a strong movement against them, we miss them now,” he admitted.

Jean-Pierre Mas, head of the French company Entreprises du Voyage, concluded that Covid-19 would likely create “increased awareness” of damage from mass tourism – but “not a revolution”. – AFP