Sustainability Expert: The Issue with Overtourism Isn't the Tourists, It's the Local Management.

Crowded beaches. Expensive rent. Tourist sites with wall-to-wall people.

Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, stated that it is not the travelers who should be blamed for overtourism.

He told "Squawk Box Asia" Monday that there was a "lack of management."

"For 40 years, I have been involved in travel and tourism, serving on committees and trade associations in Europe, North America, and Asia."

From marketing to managing

Durband advised CNBC that destination marketing organizations should replace the "M" in DMO from marketing to management.

He added that this shift has started, but still in its infancy.

"Tourism is a sector that requires management, and there are ways to manipulate, control, and add capacity to tackle the problem, as he stated."

He demonstrated various instances where this is being executed effectively.

"Although we observe effective management of protected areas and national parks, much work is required to increase public awareness of the necessary actions at the government level."

'Masters' of crowd control

But that isn't true of China, he said.

Durband stated that the Chinese excel at increasing capacity and controlling flows, as demonstrated by the Leshan Giant Buddha.

The municipal government constructed an enormous attraction adjacent to the Buddha, which disperses visitors from the area that now includes developed parkland and a cave full of enormous carved figures.

Chinese officials established a control center with video screens to monitor visitors at different locations. He informed CNBC Travel that they were aware of the narrow staircases used to access the Buddha before they became dangerously crowded.

He suggested that many famous cultural heritage sites worldwide, which suffer from overcrowding, would benefit from additional, preferably preliminary sites to visit, that would prepare tourists so they wouldn't feel obligated to stay at the main attraction.

All popular sites require technology to track visitor movements.

Managing tourism 'flows'

Controlling visitor concentration is a strategy gaining popularity to manage overtourism. Instead of reducing tourism levels, this approach focuses on controlling the number of visitors at a particular location.

Local governments are beginning to adopt the strategy used by tourist strongholds like Walt Disney World.

The small French village of Saint Guilhem le Désert experienced a change in travelers' flow after a heart attack death in the town and traffic prevented an ambulance from providing aid.

Visitors are required to park outside the village on weekends and during the summer and then use alternative modes of transportation such as bicycles, walking or electric shuttle buses to reach the village, while residents are allowed to drive into the village, according to Durband.

On July 6, protestors marched through Barcelona, demanding a reduction in the number of tourists visiting the city.

A spokesperson for the city revealed to CNBC Travel last week that the city's focus is on "flow."

The Barcelona City Council spokesperson stated that the measure of success in tourism in Barcelona should not solely focus on the number of visitors but rather on managing the flow of people to avoid exceeding social and environmental limits.

Barcelona presents a unique challenge for managing visitor flows, as visitors tend to concentrate in areas preferred by residents, leading to tension between the two groups, according to Durband.

He stated that since everyone wants to visit the same small area of Old Town, achieving dispersion would necessitate a significant strategy.

Still, he said it's "absolutely" possible.

"The number of people on the planet is increasing, and the growing middle class in Asia-Pacific is driving demand. As a result, capacity needs to be increased, and management approaches to manage visitors must be drastically improved."