Overtourism and how not to be part of the problem
With 2024 setting records for the highest ever number of people travelling (an anticipated 1.53 billion worldwide) and highest contribution from tourism to the global GDP (an expected $11.1 trillion), and 2025 set to see even greater rises (according to the International Air Transport Association, this will be the first year the number of air passengers will surpass 5 billion), we’ve looked at what overtourism means, why we should be worried about it, and how we can all play a role in helping destinations to avoid the lure of the tourist dollar and serve their communities first and foremost.
What is overtourism?
Although tourist numbers have exploded since the pandemic as a result of people making up for lost time and opportunities (and even sometimes engaging in ‘revenge tourism’ – travelling aggressively for the perceived deprivations caused by Covid), according to BBC Travel Show presenter and overtourism expert Rajan Datar, the phenomenon began as far back as the 1990s, as the result of several factors.
One was the advent of low-cost airlines and other cheaper forms of travel, another was greater access to knowledge about places and travelling thanks to the internet, and a third was the gradual rise in the number of people who can afford to travel. Covid aside, other factors that have also now come into play are the opening up of new markets, especially travellers from China and India.
Why is overtourism a problem?
While tourist boards around the world vie to lure us in with sexy ad campaigns, in some destinations, as Datar explains in his podcast Revenge of the Tourists on What Now? With Trevor Noah and his three-part Radio 3 series The Tourist Trap, "Locals feel like extras in their own movie".
Things change in large and small ways, from an insidious loss of character and local charm to rising prices yet falling standards in restaurants. In Santorini in mid 2024, for instance, residents were outraged to be asked by authorities to stay at home at sundown so that tourists could better enjoy the Greek island’s iconic sunset views. But it went further than that – incensed by increasing prices, littering and congestion, many islanders began threatening to up and leave.
In many places, including Santorini, many of the problems and tensions have been caused by cruise ships disgorging tourists in huge numbers. Often these visitors don’t stay long or spend any money locally, rushing back to their ship for their all-inclusive dining. And they crowd out the obvious sights as they fight for space to take the regulatory selfie as proof of their fleeting, tickbox visit.
Which cities have the most overtourism?
According to an August 2024 report by The Economist, Amsterdam, Paris and Milan have the greatest number of tourist arrivals per resident – 10, eight and six respectively. However, it’s Barcelona that has grabbed the most headlines, after protestors fired water pistols at tourists in July 2024, in umbrage at what many see as the Disneyfication of their city.
The city of Antoni Gaudí has long had a tense relationship with its justifiable popularity among art aficionados, beach lovers, foodies, shoppers and football fans, spearheaded by its formidable first female mayor Ada Colau. During her 2015–2023 tenure, Colau repeatedly opposed the expansion of El Prat airport, the use of private cars in the city, and the rise in the number of cruise ship arrivals.
She was also an early opponent of short-term holiday rentals for the way they were sucking the life out of neighbourhoods as locals were priced out by foreign investors. As a result, in 2024 Barcelona announced that it would become an Airbnb/short-term rental free city by 2029, and various other destinations are following suit.
Meanwhile, Amsterdam has in recent years tackled its own overtourism issues by reducing the quantity of hotel accommodation, raising hotel taxes and banning cruise ships. Venice also banned cruise ships above a certain size from its lagoon, and in 2024 it also introduced the Venice Access Fee for day-trippers.
Other destinations that in 2024 experienced demonstrations not against tourism per se but against the effects of certain kind of tourism included Tenerife, where locals protested against the limitation of water and other natural resources and also damage to the environment, and Mallorca, where the main complaint, as with Barcelona, has been the rise of unregulated Airbnbs, which reduces the number of long-term rentals available to locals. Similar issues have seen anti-tourism graffiti and other pushbacks in Madrid.
Further afield, in Ubud in Bali, locals have been outpaced when it comes to rental accommodation by Westerners living like rock stars on incomes from their own countries, as well as being dismayed that the temples where they pray are often flooded by ogling tourists.
As Datar says,"If it's actually worse for locals living there, there's something wrong."
Are there solutions to overtourism?
The dilemma is that many places around the world rely on tourism for much of or even their main income – in Ibiza, a full 90 per cent of the island's GDP comes from tourism, so Covid sent unemployment figures soaring. Travelling is also undoubtedly a force for good beyond economic considerations, and in both directions – it brings human beings from very different backgrounds and life circumstances into contact with one another and helps us all learn to understand both others and ourselves better, fostering tolerance and progress.
But this is tourism if it’s done right. And what does that actually mean? For some, the answer is to encourage smaller numbers of high-spending visitors, to maximise revenue without overcrowding. But this would make travel even more elitist than it can often already be - the preserve of an elite. As it is, at least half of the world has never been outside their own country and only about five per cent of the global population has ever taken even one flight.
The answer is destination management and dispersal. As Datar reminds us, 80 per cent of people are going to 10 per cent of the world’s destinations. We should be choosing our holidays more wisely, with an eye for places and peoples that need our tourist spend more.
We should also be choosing destinations, types of holidays and forms of travel, such as no-fly options and rail journeys, that ensure that our money goes to local workers and communities rather than global chains and corporates.
And this in turn will only serve to enhance our travel experiences: locals will be more welcoming because we are contributing to their quality of life, while supporting small native business will counter the homogenisation of so many places around the world, where often all one encounters is the same multinational coffee shops, hotel brands and the like.
It may be a buzzword, but authenticity is ultimately what it’s all about, along with genuine human connection. Travel needs to be first and foremost not about you ticking off destinations, but about what your money and presence does to conserve what’s good about places and improve what’s bad, making them more liveable for people who make them their home. We’ve looked at some places where you can do just that...
Where can I travel to combat overtourism?
Transylvania
Myth-swathed mountains, medieval towns and villages, and even a Gothic fortress associated with the legend of Dracula… This region of central Romania retains its mysterious atmosphere and lost-in-time-feel, far from the crowds. Tourism here is a always low-key and locally inspired and beneficial.
Highlights of a six-day Transylvania trip include Bucharest’s compelling Old Town, cobblestoned Brasov and Bran Castle, as well as the shimmering Ice Hotel built each year from snow and ice blocks from a glacial lake high in the Fagaras Mountains.
Emilia Romagna
Much less-visited than Tuscan hotspots Florence, Pisa and Siena, Bologna has equally fabulous sights and glorious food and wine that have earnt it the nickname La Grassa ("the Fat One") . It’s known for its family-run, artisan firms including Parmesan factories, balsamic vineyards and Parma ham producers. Modena is just as delicious a prospect, while also offering up the grand Duomo, the former home of Luciano Pavarotti, and Ferrari and Lamborghini museums.
A six-day tour of Bologna and Modena gives you time to see landmarks such as the medieval Two Towers, and also includes a foodie tour, visits to local producers and a hands-on cookery lesson.
Montenegro
Still under-the-radar compared with adjoining Croatia but offering many of the same activities and charms, Montenegro wows with a dream of an Adriatic coastline and inland National Parks with incredible mountains and lakes – between then hosting the likes of yachting and sea-kayaking, white-water rafting, zip-lining and hiking.
An eight-day Montenegro holiday includes the popular Old Towns of Kotor and Budva but also out-of-the-way spots including Lovcen National Park in the Dinara Alps and Durmitor National Park with its breathtaking Piva Canyon.
Slovenia
Paradise for lovers of fresh air, the great outdoors and spectacular natural beauty, Slovenia rivals Switzerland for gorgeous mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes, and is a brilliant choice for fans of hiking, biking, kayaking, paddleboarding and whitewater rafting. It also has a sliver of Adriatic coastline, and a fairytale-like capital, Ljubljana, with a medieval old quarter and river paddleboarding past pastel-painted baroque churches.
A six-day Slovenia trip trip takes in Ljubljana, medieval Kamnik (famed for its craft beer production), Lake Bled, Triglav National Park, the Vipava Valley (great for wine tastings) and Istria, where you can join a truffle-hunting excursion.
Northumberland
Heather-clad moors, rolling hills, ancient meadows and vast swatches of uncrowded beaches characterise this north-eastern county remote enough from much of the rest of the UK to have escaped the tourist hordes. As well as intriguing castles and part of one of Britain’s most iconic Roman remains, Hadrian’s Wall, it has some of the most pristine dark skies in England, making it one of the best places in the country to stargaze.
A three-day Northumberland astronomy tour takes you to two observatories to see amazing constellations both with the naked eye and using scientific instruments, as well as benefit from talks, workshops and demonstrations. Between visits, you'll also get to explore Hadrian's Wall.
Hebrides
This island chain off the west coast of Scotland combines idyllic beaches and other superb landscapes with wildlife, historic monuments and the chance to sample distinctive whiskies where they are made – all while hopping around unhurriedly by little local ferries. Highlights includes Taransay of Castaway fame, unique Cockleshell Beach on Barra, the Standing Stones of Callanish, and the distinctive Black Houses at Gearrannan.
A five-day Outer Hebrides holiday is joined by travel journalist and broadcaster Monty Hall, who will deepen your exploration of the islands of Eriskay and Barra as well as sharing his experiences as a volunteer wildlife ranger while filming Monty's Hall Great Hebridean Escape.
Antarctica
While tourism to the White Continent is growing and will need to be kept in check to help preserve its otherworldly scenery and magnificent wildlife, reputable expedition operators take you there in a way that helps further scientific knowledge and hence conservation of this delicate region whose survival is so crucial to that of the planet. Come here to lose your ego and to understand our place in the natural world and how important it is to preserve it.
See humpback whales, penguins, seals and other extraordinary wildlife, listen to expert lectures and take part in Citizen Science activities collecting data while out in zodiac boats with the science team on a 12-day Antarctica holiday aboard the custom-built expedition ship MS Fridtjof Nansen or MS Amundsen (some of the most environmentally friendly cruise ships in the world).
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