“The idea isn’t how do we stop tourism, the challenge is how do we get it right.”

Centrally located between Los Angeles and San Francisco sits Big Sur, a seventy-plus mile stretch of dramatic coastline offering breathtaking views, access to undeveloped nature and bottomless inspiration for the many who seek. This photogenic section of Pacific Coast Highway hosts throughway travelers all year round and is a popular travel destination for more than six million domestic and international tourists.

Every year, millions of visitors traffic their way through this small community, the lack of appropriate infrastructure creates dangerous congestion, waste management issues, and other public safety threats; the infrastructure that exists along the highway is simply not enough to support the tourist population that increases annually with the direct advertisements focussed around the beauty of Big Sur. Calls for action to county and state officials have been going on for decades, yet the inadequate infrastructure, advertising policies and resource management stays the same. 

With recognition that to fix something first it needs to be widely acknowledged as a problem, this inspirational and educational short film explores the intuitive perspectives from some very influential residents and the general consensus of their neighbors. The film presents the audience with a glimpse into some of the biggest issues facing the future of the community and calls for more participants of the global movement towards responsible travel.