Example of sign near Park Güell in Barcelona: »Tourists destroy my neighbourhood«
What are the real facts about overtourism in Europe?
Overtourism has become a major topic of conversation all over Europe.
Especially after local Spanish residents in Barcelona, Mallorca and Tenerife rallied against overtourism in their cities/on their islands.
Michael Madsen shares facts and statistics on overtourism
I provide easy-to-access facts about overtourism that are straight-forward to use in news articles, blog posts or social feeds.
Facts, quotes and media files can be used with a source link to Autentical.com
Contents
Extensive mass tourism leads to overtourism
Mass tourism is not exactly a new phenomenon.
Ever since charter tourism started in the 1960s, some coastal towns and islands have been densely populated by tourists.
But there has been a significant change within the last 10-15 years. Even despite the COVID pandemic!
Tourism has literally exploded – and has reached new record.
There is mass tourism almost everywhere nowadays. Even in Iceland, Greenland and on Mount Everest there are queues.
And those places that were already affected by mass tourism are now officially suffering from overtourism.
It has become too much for the locals. Even too much for the tourists!
La Alhambra (Granada, Spain). Now with overtourism
Why does overtourism occur?
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The reasons for overtourism lie primarily in these 5 factors: |
Increased economic leeway
In Europe nowadays everyone can afford to travel without holding back.
Many go on holiday several times a year. Even long holidays of 3-4 weeks or more.
There are also those traveling all year round, e.g. digital nomads and many caravans.
In addition, a huge number of Asians are now also traveling to Europe and other World sights.
Not just the Chinese, but increasingly also Indians, South Koreans and Arabs.
The increased economic freedom is the main reason for the explosive tourism increase.
And the explosive development in tourism is not well distributed!
Everyone wants to see the same well-known sights and try the same popular attractions.
Also the Chineese and Indians that now has economic ability to travel.
Explosive increase in cruise tourism
A relatively new type of tourism that is growing explosively is cruise ship tourism.
In the popular cruise ports 3-4 cruise ships often arrive simultaneously – each with several thousand tourists.
Cities like Cadiz, Malaga, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice have been hit hard by cruise tourism.
And these places were already suffering from mass tourism beforehand…
Mass tourism on the beaches of the Canary Islands
Smaller coastal towns and islands
Many popular coastal destinations were originally small towns – often on small islands.
This means that the share of tourists over the local population quickly became unsustainable.
Many coastal towns may actually now be described as tourist towns, even though they were original towns and not founded for tourism.
This applies to e.g. Lloret de Mar, Los Cristianos, Alcudia and Marbella.
Famous sights
Everyone wants to see it all and not miss a thing. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is ruling.
That’s why everyone visits the Sagrada Familia, the Colosseum, the Alhambra and Venice even though these places are already over-touristy.
Neither Chinese, Indians, South Koreans or Arabs want to miss out on the major sights either.
That’s why overtourism is just getting worse by the major sights.
Neither tourist tax, access restrictions nor good advice can counteract this.
Explosive increase in caravans
The new fast-growing trend is to travel around on your own in a camper van or a caravan.
It sounds completely innocent; after all they look after themselves and don’t bother anyone, right?
The fact is, however, that caravans cluster in all the same places and thus contribute to overtourism.
Illegal caravan campsites lead to overtourism in protected nature areas
At all the popular caravan destinations there are large settlements of caravans. And they almost create convoys on the roads.
In addition, caravans are the type of tourism that has the absolute least economic impact on the local economy.
When costs for maintaining roads, beaches and municipal (free) camping areas are taken into account, caravans are the only form of tourism that has a negative economic impact on the local area.
What types of consequences does overtourism have?
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There are several types of consequences to consider: |
In addition to economic and environmental consequences, overtourism particularly affects the local population.
The major complaint from the locals is the sharply increasing rental prices in the city centers.
Tourist rentals pay much better, which is why there are fewer ordinary long-term rentals available in the city centers.
Unfortunately, the construction of hotels and new apartment complexes does not improve the situation – they are built exclusively for tourists and other outsiders, including both foreign residents and national city dwellers who buy second homes by the coast.
An often overlooked environmental effect of tourism is the illegal campsites of caravans in nature parks and protected areas.
Protected nature areas are by definition vulnerable and the large influx of caravans threatens to cause irreparable damage to the natural areas.
Puente Romano in Cordoba, Spain. Now with overtourism.
Protests against overtourism
Many places, locals are trying to influence and limit overtourism.
Demonstrations
Protest rallies against overtourism are particularly common on Mallorca and Tenerife, but also in Barcelona.
The Spanish have by far the lowest tolerance for overtourism in Europe, which is why demonstrations occur a lot on the Spanish islands.
Signal warfare with signs
Many locals put up signs targeting tourists and/or politicians.
Example of a sign seen near Park Güell in Barcelona: “Tourists are destroying my neighborhood”.
Example of a sign seen on Mallorca: “Tourist go home!”.
Example of a sign seen in Malaga: “This used to be my home”.
Neighborhood Warfare
A particular enemy in the city center of the major cities are tourist apartments – also known as “Airbnbs” – which inflate rental prices.
Many homeowners’ associations are trying to ban short-term rentals in their properties.
Unfortunately, a ban must be unanimous, so just one landlord benefitting from tourist rentals can veto and prevent the ban.
Are only locals affected by overtourism?
No. Tourists are also affected by overtourism.
This requires an explanation:
Nowadays tourists are individualists and do not want to be part of a tourist crowd.
They want to find their own way and search out their own experiences.
However, they still want to see the major sights and experience the same things as everyone else.
This has created a new travel trend: getting away from mass tourism.
Read about the new travel trend here.
What can travelers do themselves?
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Conscious travelers can avoid mass tourism with active choices: |
What can the travel industry do?
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The customer is king, but the industry can provide the customers with better options: |
What can the authorities do?
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The will and desires of tourists is difficult to challenge, but certain measures have been tried: |
Concrete constructions by the beach – and overtourism – on The Canary Islands
The most important facts about overtourism
What is mass tourism defined as?
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Mass tourism is the concentration of many tourists at the same time in the same place. |
What is overtourism defined as?
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Overtourism is the perception of too many tourists constantly/seasonally at a destination. |
How is overtourism meassured?
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The overtourism index is calculated based on 4 factors: |
Which countries have the highest overtourism index?
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Smaller countries in particular have a high overall overtourism index: |
Which countries have the highest overtourism index during the holiday season?
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The holiday season is considered to be June, July and August: |
Which cities have the highest overtourism index?
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Surprises surpass traditional tourist destinations like Paris, Rome and Barcelona: |
What is the local perception of overtourism?
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Proportion of population who believe there are too many foreign tourists in the local area: |
Is there support for local overtourism protests?
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Many Europeans support protests against overtourism: |
What factors determine the degree of tourist phobia?
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Tourist phobia is the locals’ reaction to overtourism and is classified according to: |
Where were the protests against overtourism?
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Some recent examples of protests against overtourism: |
What is the economic impact of different forms of tourism?
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Assessed based on the income generated and which parts have an effect in the local area: |
What is the proportion of annual tourists in relation to the population?
| Foreign tourists | Population | Tourists as share of population | ||||
| Spain | France | Spain | France | Spain | France | |
| 2016 | 75.3 mio. |
82.7 mio. |
46.4 mio. |
66.7 mio. |
162.3 % |
123.9 % |
| 2017 | 81.9 mio. |
86.9 mio. |
46.6 mio. |
66.9 mio. |
175.8 % |
129.9 % |
| 2018 | 82.8 mio. |
89.4 mio. |
46.8 mio. |
67.0 mio. |
176.9 % |
133.4 % |
| 2019 | 83.7 mio. |
90.9 mio. |
47.1 mio. |
67.3 mio. |
177.7 % |
135.1 % |
| 2020 | 18.9 mio. |
41.7 mio. |
47.4 mio. |
67.4 mio. |
39.9 % |
61.8 % |
| 2021 | 31.2 mio. |
48.4 mio. |
47.4 mio. |
67.6 mio. |
65.8 % |
71.6 % |
| 2022 | 71.6 mio. |
79.4 mio. |
48.0 mio. |
67.8 mio. |
149.2 % |
117.1 % |
| 2023 | 85.3 mio. |
100.0 mio. |
48.6 mio. |
68.0 mio. |
175.5 % |
147.0 % |
Effects of Overtourism
Economic Consequences
Overtourism has several different types of economic consequences for the affected areas.
While tourism generates income, it can also lead to rising living costs, especially rising rental prices, which makes it difficult for locals to live in the center of major tourist cities.
Many homeowners’ associations have had to realize that short-term rentals to tourists are often more profitable than long-term rentals, which makes it difficult to get a ban – there is almost always one owner blocking a ban.
Environmental Impact
Overtourism has serious environmental consequences.
Both pollution, littering and outright destruction of natural areas.
Mass tourism leads to increased waste, traffic, illegal campsites and congestion in nature reserves.
An often overlooked effect is the illegal camping sites of caravans in nature parks and nature reserves.
Massive camping areas threaten vulnerable ecosystems and can damage biodiversity.
Social consequences
Overtourism also affects local communities and the local population.
Local residents experience a literal invastion from the tourist crowds. This leads to dissatisfaction among the local population.
Sources and references:
Facts, quotes and media files can be used with a source link to Autentical.com
