Barcelona, Venice and Amsterdam are among Europe’s favourite travel destinations and benefit greatly from tourism. However, the massive influx of visitors places a considerable burden on the cities and their inhabitants.

To counteract the negative effects of overtourism, these cities are taking decisive action. Following public protests, no new hotels may be built in Venice and cruise ships will have to use other moorings in future. Amsterdam has banned guided tours of its famous red light district in order to protect local residents. Paris is planning to ban coaches from the city centre in order to improve the quality of life. Other overcrowded cities are also trying to control the situation through various methods.

Do you think that overtourism is a serious problem in Europe?

Sources: National Statistics Offices, Statista, Le Monde, Forbes

  • WahotsEnglish
    4·
    5 months ago

    Wow, our smallish city got 33.9m tourists during the pandemic. The only thing that really annoys me are the tourists going up the bike lanes the wrong way. There are arrows every 40 feet, guys. Move one street over, and you are on the right PBL. :P

    That said…god, I’d love our city banning or severely restricting cars on most roads.

          • WahotsEnglish
            2·
            5 months ago

            Yup! The network is still relatively small, but good enough that friends are selling their cars and using bikes, rail, and buses full-time here. The city has enough protected bike lanes that you can get to most places safely. :)

            We are starting to reach that point where even smaller, modest cities and towns across the larger region are even starting to put in protected bike lanes, even in areas where cars are a way of life. It’s very refreshing to see!