Galapagos Prepares to Implement New Tourism Fee Increase: Are Fee Hikes the Answer?

Come August, the tourist fee for visitors who want to explore the Galapagos Islands is set to double.

The current fee of $100 will increase to $200 in an effort by local officials to reduce the growing tide of visitors to the ecologically sensitive destination.

More than 270,000 people visit the archipelago annually, according to the Galapagos Conservation Trust. And that figure has been steadily increasing. The doubled fee is the first time The Galapagos has raised entry costs since 1998. Nationals from most countries are required to pay an entrance fee, with the exception of visitors from Argentina, Brazil, and Peru.

The Galapagos, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site, is just the latest tourism hotspot to implement fee increases in hopes of tamping down overtourism and protecting precious natural resources. Popular locations such as Barcelona and Bali have also recently introduced such measures for similar reasons.

Hawaii could be the next island chain to adopt such a measure. There have been strong calls there recently for a $50 so-called Green Fee visitor payment to be added, the funds from which would support the ecologically fragile area. 

All of which begs the question — are steeper fees the answer to the global problem of over tourism. Or merely one piece of the complex and highly nuanced puzzle.

Leaders at the global tour company Intrepid Travel, which runs five types of trips to the Galapagos islands, say the fees are an important developing trend in the travel industry in response to “a deepening issue.” But suggest that the fees should be part of a more comprehensive solution.
 
“These fees are an immediately necessary first step, but exactly that, just one step in a global conversation around increased regulation,” Intrepid’s Ecuador General Manager, Fausto Sarango said in a statement. 
 
“The Galapagos Islands are not only a national treasure, but a global one,” added Sarango. “There must be greater strategic buy-in from all tour operators on the volume of tourists to fragile areas and the locations we visit.”
 
Fees like those being charged by The Galapagos do indeed support conservation efforts, added Sarango.

But as a company, Intrepid is moving towards becoming the world’s first carbon negative travel company. And to that end, the company is calling on both travelers and travel companies to “rethink their role in how we experience this planet before it’s too late.”
 
The Galapagos are a UNESCO World Heritage site comprised of more than 100 islands. The islands have been dubbed a “living museum” and are home to many rare or endangered plants and animals.
 
The Galapagos Conservation Trust, a UK-registered charity focused on promoting conservation and sustainability on the islands, has warned of ecological consequences from rising visitor numbers.
 
“Recent years have seen worrying growth in the number of visitors to the Islands, driven by a sharp increase in land-based tourism,” the charity says on its website.
 
“This is pushing waste management systems to the limit, exacerbating water and food insecurity, and increasing the threat of devastating invasive species being introduced to the Islands,” says the organization.
 
Only about 30,000 people live on one of the Galapagos islands, but more than 270,000 tourists visit each year.

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