Overtourism: It's not the tourists — it's local 'lack of management,' says sustainability expert

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

When it comes to overtourism, don't blame the travelers, said Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Rather, it's "lack of management," he told "Squawk Box Asia" Monday.  

"I've been in travel and tourism for 40 years, working on committees and trade associations in Europe, North America and Asia," he said. "Governments around the world traditionally just didn't think they had a role in managing."

Destination marketing organizations "must change the 'M' in DMO from marketing to management," Durband told CNBC before the interview.

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

"This is the great awakening that needs to take place, that government needs to understand — tourism is a sector that needs management," he said. "There are ways to manipulate, to control, to add capacity …  to tackle the problem."

He pointed to several examples of places where this is already being done well.

"Wesee good management of protected areas and national parks," he said. "But so much needs to be done just to create awareness that what needs to be done at the government level."

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

"The Chinese are masters at adding capacity and managing flows," Durband said. He cited the Leshan Giant Buddha as one example.

"Everyone comes for the Buddha, but the municipal government built an enormous attraction adjacent to it ... that disperses the visitors," he said of the area that now includes developed parkland and a cave full of enormous carved figures.

He said Chinese officials also created a control center with video screens that track visitors at various locations. Of the narrow staircases used to access the