The Tourist Trap

Rajan hosts a thought-provoking show on Radio 4, The Tourist Trap, which examines the pitfalls behind mass tourism and how it can negatively impact local communities.

This wide-roaming program, aired in May 2024, began with Rajan visiting an Austrian village that regularly pulls in ten times as many tourists as residents, and looked at the innovative solutions Venice has devised.  Other topics include greener travel options, such as switching from plane to train, and the rising threat of wildfires which can ruin holidays and impact future travel aspirations.

Highlighting the need for debates around these issues, Rajan notes:

“Even before the pandemic, the tourism sector knew there were certain stress points around the world both with overcrowded popular destinations like Venice and with tourism’s growing contribution to global warming. A more aware and responsible approach was needed. I pitched this series late last year and it’s incredible how timely it seems to be with demonstrations already by communities in hotspots like Tenerife. The series really hit a chord with many listeners, and I have had a big reaction to it. The online piece I also wrote for the BBC website received an incredible number of hits, and trust me, this story is not going away.”