MACHU PICCHU, PERU — Daily they swarm this mystical city of the Incas where the high ridges of the Peruvian Andes fall away to meet the Amazon rain forest.
The tourists — about 2,000 each day — tramp through the 15th century mountain sanctuary, clog the paths between the stone buildings, scale fragile rock-and-sod terraces.
Now, following Machu Picchu's widely publicized designation as one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World," South America's best known archaeological site is bracing for even more visitors, while just down the mountain, new hotels and restaurants are going up to serve them. But some experts fear Machu Picchu and its surroundings will be loved to death.
Conservationists fear for Machu Piccu's future - Houston Chronicle
The latter part of the story has some discussion on the political measures some countries went through to get their historical sites designated as one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World". Now that designation could lead to the ruin of those same sites.