Austria’s picturesque UNESCO World Heritage-listed city, Hallstatt, attracts so many tourists—more than a million each year—that the locals have had enough. In the face of local protests against overtourism, the city government decided to erect a wooden fence to prevent visitors from taking pictures in one of the most “Instagrammed” places.
This barrier, intended to prevent tourists from disrupting the lives of residents, triggered such a reaction on social networks, according to Euronews, that it had to be removed.
Instead, the mayor Hallstatt About installing a sign reminding tourists that the people of the area live there. “To reduce overtourism, Hallstatt has already introduced daily limits on the number of buses and cars that can enter the city,” reports euronews. “But these ceilings are being reached regularly and Mayor Alexander Schütz told the Austrian press that residents just want to be left alone.”
Other destinations affected by excess tourism
Victims of overtourism, many destinations in Europe are so crowded that angry locals are calling for greater restrictions on visitor numbers, particularly at the most popular selfie spots.
Other recent measures in Europe to combat overcrowding include capping the number of visitors in Marseille, France, and banning cruise ships in Venice, Italy.
Several Spanish islands have recently expressed frustration with the influx of British tourists. The Spanish island of Lanzarote has declared itself a “tourist saturated zone”, while Mallorca plans to limit the number of tourist beds to 430,000 on the entire island.
Picturesque city Portofino, on the Italian Riviera, which has a population of only 400 but throngs with thousands of visitors, erected “non-public” areas. Anyone caught lounging for too long on the pavement between 10:30am and 6pm risks a €270 fine.
“Overtourism has become a major problem across Europe, from beaches to popular metropolises,” Euronews adds.
Most popular cities
Deutsche Welle International (DW) broadcaster Deutsche Welle identified the city as “great architecture and culture, but attracts more tourists than locals suffer”:
- VeniceItaly, with millions of people flocking to the city throughout the year, has 21 tourists per capita and suffers from serious environmental problems due to its unique location in the middle of a lake;
- Romein Italy, received 26 million tourists last year, forcing it to take measures such as restricting access to the Trevi Fountain and banning sitting on the famous Trinidad de Mont staircase;
- Praguein the Czech Republic, with a population of just 1.3 million, receives more than eight million tourists annually;
- Dubrovnikin Croatia, a popular tourist destination, has been propelled onto the tourist maps thanks to Game of Thrones and welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors annually;
- AmsterdamIn the Netherlands, where residents see their streets invaded by hordes of boisterous tourists, it is expected to receive 18 million visitors this year;
- Barcelonain Spain, which has a population of 1.6 million, has received a record 12 million visitors;
- Lisbonin Portugal, which has a population of 1 million, receives between 4 and 5 million tourists annually.
Other European capitals are crowded with tourists
Euronews’ list of the busiest summer capitals in Europe includes:
- Dublinthe ever-bustling Irish city with 11 tourists per capita, “home to Guinness and brewery tours that have greeted nearly 23 million people since the brewery opened in 2000”.
- Tallinnthe capital of Estonia, with an average of 10 tourists per inhabitant.
- Parisin France, at a rate of nine tourists per inhabitant.
- Athensin Greece, an average of eight tourists per inhabitant.
The European portal The Mayor.EU lists:
- Brugesin Belgium, is on par with Venice in terms of the number of tourists per inhabitant.
- Rhodes, Greece, is also associated with Venice and Bruges. Just like Mykonos and Santorini, the Greek islands with small communities were never meant to withstand the onslaught of millions of visitors.
- ReykjavikIceland, with 16 tourists per capita, has become increasingly popular in recent years thanks to its diverse and unique landscapes.
The most visited country during the summer
Spire Global, a spatial data analytics company, has identified the three busiest countries during the summer based on international flights over the past year:
- Greece : With 287,070 international flights during the summer months, Greece ranks first. The number of international flights increased ninefold in August, Greece’s busiest month, compared to February, the country’s quietest month.
- Croatia In the second place, the number of international flights increased five times during the summer, as the number of domestic flights reached more than 55,150 incoming flights in July.
- Albania Thirdly, with more than 35,530 international flights in July, Albania sees its flight density double by five during the summer compared to the low season.
Social media inspiration
If you want social media inspiration for your next trip to Europe, Holidu, the vacation rental portal, has revealed its most popular cities on TikTok:
Barcelona106,100,000,000 views; Paris64,800,000,000, ManchesterEngland, 10100000000; LionsFrance, 9,300,000,000; Stuttgart, Germany, 9,200,000,000; Porto, Portugal, 3,500,000,000; Amsterdam, Netherlands, 9,900,000,000; Marseille, France, 9,200,000,000; DublinIreland, 5,600,000,000; BordeauxFrance 2,600,000,000; LuganoSwitzerland, 657,700,000; Madrid326,000,000; Milano136,000,000; MannheimGermany, 3,000,000,000; And SalzburgAustria, 1,400,000,000 views.
Holidu suggests to stay in a less crowded city in Europe Berlin in Germany, Madrid in Spain, Brussels in Belgium and Budapest In Hungary as the “least visited” capitals, where there are two tourists per inhabitant.
Translated article from the American magazine Forbes – Author: Cecilia Rodriguez
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