The Monocle Minute

The weather is hotting up but as some people plan summer breaks there’s a dark cloud on the horizon. A growing list of destinations are so concerned about the evils of overtourism that they would rather you didn’t visit at all.

While a careful balance must be struck and sustainability considered, some places are weathering the moment better than others. In Venice, officials have resorted to haughty schemes that stem visitor numbers by upping taxes, imposing quotas or banning cruise ships. Amsterdam’s city hall is staging prickly campaigns to dissuade certain tourists – with stag-dos, drugs or vice in mind – from taking the trip.

Though cities and resorts should put residents first, tourists needn’t be the enemy. After all, visitors buoy local businesses, spur employment and line a destination’s coffers. And since when did the idea of travelling, seeing fresh sights and learning a little more about other places become something to shun rather than aspire to?

A better way to do tourism is just one of the topics that we tackle in our sunny, out-today newspaper Monocle Mediterraneo. Inside, Greece’s tourism minister, Olga Kefalogianni, tells us about balancing record visitor numbers and new long-haul connections with the interests of locals, through strategies such as promoting lesser-known corners of the country. All while maintaining a welcoming attitude to new arrivals.

Elsewhere in the issue, we visit a US military base at the foot of Mount Etna in Sicily and expose the perils of killer flip-flops (at times literally lethal). We also proffer some upbeat essays and island itineraries, and tour some breezy architecture. Oh, and we have a neat solution to overcrowding in Venice proper: opt for the winsome bagni dotted along the Lido’s Adriatic Coast instead. There’s plenty to keep you inspired wherever you find yourself this summer.

Done right, tourism, like journalism, can be a force for good and rather refreshing for the person experiencing it. Hopefully the headwinds are changing. Holidays and holidaymakers don’t have to be a problem – we all deserve our day in the sun.

Josh Fehnert is Monocle’s editor. ‘Monocle Mediterraneo’ is on newsstands now and alsoavailable to buy online.

With no clear winner emerging at Iran’s presidential elections last Friday, millions will be heading to the polls again this week for the run-off vote. Despite the urgent need for a successor to the late president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May, voter turnout hit a record low of 40 per cent on 28 June. Iran is grappling with challenges on multiple fronts, from economic pressures and international sanctions to social unrest over the enforcement of headscarves for women.

Though all four contenders who ran in the first round belong to a tightly controlled group that is loyal to the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian is offering a slightly more liberal vision. “The top two candidates are Saeed Jalili, a hardline conservative who opposes engagement with the West, and Pezeshkian, who promotes more moderate policies on issues such as the morality police,” Sanam Vakil, the director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa programme, tells Monocle Radio’s The Briefing. “Pezeshkian is trying to appeal to the disaffected portion of the population and needs those people to turn up in order to win.”

For more on Iran’s presidential elections, tune in to Monday’s edition of ‘The Briefing’ on Monocle Radio.

Japan’s banknotes will have a new look from tomorrow after their first redesign in 20 years. The new ¥10,000 (€57), ¥5,000 (€28.50) and ¥1,000 (€5.70) notes will feature new faces and places: businessman Eiichi Shibusawa and Tokyo Station grace the ¥10,000, while Umeko Tsuda, a pioneer of women’s education, appears on the ¥5,000. The ¥1,000 note bears the image of Japanese microbiologist Shibasaburo Kitasato on one side and Hokusai’s enduring print of a wave on the other.

The most significant changes are in the security details. The new notes feature the world’s first high-definition watermarks and hologram portraits that rotate when tilted. The paper is made from natural fibres incorporating traditional Japanese paper-making techniques; the intaglio printing technique also gives the notes a rough touch. Their design features include large numerals and tactile marks to indicate the denomination. Though Japan is less reliant on cash than it was before the pandemic, the Bank of Japan says that the demand for paper money remains strong.

Lili Radu is a co-founder of VeeCollective, a sustainable bag label specialising in versatile totes designed to meet the needs of the modern consumer. She spoke to Monocle Radio’s The Entrepreneurs about her brand’s evolution.

How did VeeCollective begin?
It’s our second company in the accessory space. While working on my initial company [her eponymous, Berlin-based brand Lili Radu] with my husband, we would hear a lot of feedback from the sales floor about how everyone was looking for a lightweight tote that they could carry their life in. People wanted a bag that you could shop and travel with, put your computer in or take to the market. We looked at each other and said, “Why don’t we do a second brand?”

How do you innovate when you’re making such a simple product?
The purpose of our company is consistent: we believe that a product, no matter what it is, should be used everyday as a part of life. Variations come with the type of bag. We have three lines of products appealing to different sectors. Our most recent is the Caba tote, which is made entirely from recycled bomber-jacket materials.

Why did you decide to be fully sustainable?
Even before we were able to produce 100 per cent recycled bags, we decided to do so as soon as we could. We were still a small company but we were growing. It was important to make that change quickly. Now it’s something that we’re very proud of – but we feel that it should be the responsibility of any producer in the industry nowadays.

For our full interview with Lili Radu, tune in to episode 655 of ‘The Entrepreneurs’ on Monocle Radio.

We meet Pearl Lam, one of the world’s leading experts on Asian art. Over the past two decades, her eponymous galleries in Hong Kong and Shanghai have become top destinations for collectors drawn in by her exquisite taste, international outlook and commitment to rewriting narratives about Eastern art. Lam joins Robert Bound at Midori House to discuss her journey into the art world, how her gallery plans to support up-and-coming African artists and her new podcast.