“It’s crazy”, “we show the beauty of the region”: when influencers transform corners of paradise into hell

Isabelle, installée à Montpellier, influenceuse, veut devenir guide touristique. MIDI LIBRE – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Le poids des influenceurs ne cesse de grandir sur Instagram, où des lieux fragiles sont plébiscités entraînant une surfréquentation insoluble. Certains ont pourtant une éthique.

"It’was already terrible, it’has become infernal, insane and we have no means to fight against this phenomenon ."

Catherine Ferrière is mayor of Bouquet, in the Gard, near Alès, a peaceful town of 250 souls which conceals a treasure: the Aiguières waterfalls, a wild, heavenly place for hiking with its emerald water basins… And invaded by the world and trash.

Overtourism expresses all its vicissitudes there, boosted by the phenomenon of influencers who, mainly via Instagram, multiply images and videos of this enchanting place.

"I'll give you all the info", says for example an influencer who has tens of thousands of views. A family who travels across France in a motorhome boasts of showing the Aiguières, "a place kept almost secret, we decided to share this nugget of nature" , they say, in a video viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

"We collect the problems"

"These people are having fun, they are happy to be followed, but we reap the problems", deplores Catherine Ferrière. And this is not the posture of a Cévennes worker.

The curious do not hesitate to trace new paths in nature, followed by others, damaging the fauna and flora: "plants and species like some batrachians have disappeared", indicates the’elected one.

Above all, she has "the haunting", that a fire will break out because of something a grill by the water. Not to mention these poorly equipped visitors who find themselves in difficulty: "even recently, young women were rescued by the firefighters, they could not get out of the gorges.& quot;

The pandemic marked a turning point with the explosion in the use of social networks and this double phenomenon. On the one hand, influencers who want big audiences to then make a living from their travels via tourist offices. And followers dream of taking a photo or video of what they saw on Instagram.

"Instagram decides our vacation, it's the first Tour operator"

"Everyone takes the same shot, the craze is enormous with certain ecological impacts. As a result, this creates a standardization of travel" deciphers Amélie Deloche, co-founder of the collective "Paye ton influence", which, on social networks, raises awareness about climate issues.

"People choose their destination to take the famous photo and then say that they went there by posting it… On social networks. Trends are created and the phenomenon is growing. Instagram has become the first tour operator, it decides our vacations."

The Ravin des Arcs is very popular with influencers and hikers. MAXPPP – Jean-Marc Lallemand

Guillaume Payen is precisely one of these “travel” in Occitania. After three years in Ariège, he is now based in Montpellier and successfully offers hikes. In the spring, his video at the ravine des Arcs, high – place for a stroll with a river in Hérault, has 4.5 million views…

Guillaume is a hit on social networks with ethics slung over his travels. DR

However, he defends an ethic: "I value the region's transport, the Lio coaches for example to go to the ravine des Arcs. I talk about it out of season and the small swimming spots in Occitanie, I don't film them", he says.

"Get people out instead of on their phones"

Better. For him, introducing people to beautiful places with this virtue of encouraging the outdoors: "It's mainly 18-35 year olds who follow me. I think it's great to get people out of their homes, encourage them to hike or discover a village rather than having them stuck on their phone."

Rue du Bras de Fer, in the heart of Montpellier, is the most immortalized on the networks and the video produced by Isabelle Iveta, Czech based in Hérault, has accumulated 500,000 views. She is also a hit with, for example, the seven most beautiful waterfalls in Occitanie, but the acidic comments from those who criticize her for revealing these places challenge her.

"Easy hikes work a lot, I help you discover Occitanie, less known than the Côte d’Azur, the beauty of the region. I can understand certain reactions but not the aggressiveness" she regrets. "I make sure that the people be respectful of nature."

How to fight against abuses ? In Bouquet, the town hall does not have the means to pay enforcement officers. Elected officials would be in favor of closing access to the site. If the risk of forest fire threatens, Catherine Ferrière will issue a ban order, as she was able to do. She wonders about a possible negative communication: in three words, “don’t come”.

"Promoting places where there are too many people, what's the point ?"

On the border of Gard and Hérault, the Vis waterfalls are experiencing this same overcrowding and the mayor of Saint-Laurent-le-Minier is already practicing this counter-attack, hoping that we do not talk above all not of the place, neither for good nor for bad.

"Over a year, the very photogenic waterfall generates three million searches on the internet, one and a half times more than the Navacelles&circus ;quot;, sighs Bruno Beltoise, who had to provide paid and dissuasive parking – 10 € – hire agents, put on traffic lights…

He rejects influencers, banned drones and points it out lucidly:"People need to realize that natural spaces are not free access, usable endlessly, it’s fragile! They recommend sites where people come but aren't comfortable because there are too many people, what's the point ?."

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