Revived Originals – A proposal to deal with cultural overtourism

Abstract

The negative external effects from ‘overtourism’ have become a major subject of discussion. However, the shutdown of domestic and international tourism, which resulted in ‘undertourism’, gives us the chance to reconsider how visits to artistic sites should be organized in the future. It is safe to expect that the problem of cultural overtourism will occur again, further deteriorating the state of historic sites. Negative external effects burden the local population, manifesting themselves in overcrowding, vandalism, and pollution. To counter these developments, we propose ‘Revived Originals’, which is a new conceptual approach designed to identically replicate heavily visited historical sites in a suitable other location. With the support of the most advanced digital technology, such as holograms, ‘Revived Originals’ provide a more intense historical experience than provided by the ‘historical’ sites. Our proposal provides an alternative to overcrowded historical sites doomed to destruction by overtourism.