page_title: Overtourism
section_title: Europe
hierarchical_section_title: Overtourism / Examples / Europe
caption_attribution_description: English: Crowd taking pictures of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
context_page_description: Overtourism is the perceived congestion or overcrowding from an excess of tourists, resulting in conflicts with locals.The World Tourism Organization defines overtourism as "the impact of tourism on a destination, or parts thereof, that excessively influences perceived quality of life of citizens and/or quality of visitor experiences in a negative way". This definition shows how overtourism can be observed both among locals, who view tourism as a disruptive factor that increasingly burdens daily life, as well as visitors, who may regard high numbers of tourists as a nuisance.
  The term has only been used frequently since 2015, but is now the most commonly used expression to describe the negative impacts ascribed to tourism.
context_section_description: In Scotland the Isle of Skye advised visitors not to come unless they had overnight lodging booked.
  Hallstatt, Austria in 2020 has 780 citizens and more than 10,000 visitors a day, primarily arriving via tour bus, stopping briefly for photographs, and moving on quickly. The town in 2020 implented a new system to limit entry of busses.
  Venice, Italy has faced declining population because of overtourism. In 2019 Forbes called it one of the "most notably overtouristed destinations" in the world. CNN in 2017 called the crowds "overbearing." The city in 2018 tested the use of turnstiles in St. Mark's Square to control the number of visitors. In 2020 the daily tourist tax was US$11.
  Capri in 2018 tested ways to limit day tourism. Cinque Terre had 2.5 million visitors in 2015, and local authorities sought to limit visitors to 1.5 million in 2016, but a backlash resulted in this being walked back. CNN in 2017 said that day tourists from cruise ships, who tour for a few hours and don't spend money, are blamed for environmental damage. Officials in Rome made it illegal to sit on the Spanish Steps, with fines of up to US$448, due to damage caused by tourists.
  Amsterdam in 2019 instituted a daily tourist tax and in 2020 eliminated Red Light District tours.  
   In Paris, workers at the Louvre went on strike over what they said were dangerously overcrowded conditions.
  In Barcelona protesters have demonstrated in tourist beaches and other tourist-heavy neighborhoods and anti-tourist graffiti has appeared. By 2013, 9,000,000 visitors were touring Park Güell annually, and officials limited entry to the park to 800 an hour. The New Yorker said, "Park Güell’s shift from a shared public space into a cultural zone occupied almost exclusively by tourists is understood by some worried residents of Barcelona as a story about the prospective fate of the city itself." According to Albert Arias, a geographer with the Barcelona government, the selling of tickets was “a very bad solution,” that "is acknowledging a problem by fencing off public space.” Airbnb has contributed to overtourism, with in some sections of town experiencing a 45% decline in resident population between 2007 and 2019 due to investors purchasing properties to use as short-term rentals via the platform. By 2017 tourism had become a top concern among city officials, with a survey showing 60% of residents believed Barcelona had "reached or exceeded" its capacity to accommodate tourism. In 2020 Barcelona was planning to limit cruise ships.
  In Santorini, Greece, cruise ship visitors have been capped at 8000 per day due to overtourism after years in which the island of 15,000 residents was receiving up to 18,000 tourists per day. 
  Dubrovnik became so overtouristed by 2017 that UNESCO considered removing it from the World Heritage Site list. The city capped the number of visitors allowed to climb its ramparts and as of 2017 was planning to limit the number of cruise ships that could dock. In 2020 they were considering limiting the number of new restaurants allowed to open.
  Reykjavík closed its Fjaðrárgljúfur area after a 2015 Justin Bieber video made it so popular the government needed to improve infrastructure.  
  Other overtouristed areas in Europe include Mallorca.
caption: Overtourism at the Louvre
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