As the British weather plays hide and seek with summertime and suitcases get packed with sunscreen, emerging tourist taxes along with persistent
overtourism
Protests are reshaping the travel scene in
Europe
.
Last summer, a series of anti-tourism demonstrations took place against
overcrowding
met holidaymakers visiting
Barcelona
and the
Balearic Islands
during peak season.
Based on recent findings from
Which?
, European hotspots, including
Zante
,
Paris
and
Mallorca
, are some of the locations most impacted by overcrowding due to tourism.
The consumer champion analysed
European Commission
(EC) tourist statistics from 2023 to pinpoint the locations teeming with visitors and those offering serene spots for solitude.
Which one named Zante, otherwise known as Zakynthos, topped the list?
Greece
The city at the forefront of overtourism, experiencing the greatest ” tourist pressure” – defined as the ratio of visitors to locals – saw an astonishing influx after a population of merely 40,000 hosted six million overnight visits in 2023. This equates to about 150 overnight stays for each resident.
Croatia
Istria Peninsula came in a close second with 133 tourist stays per resident over night.
When it comes to destinations experiencing minimal tourist pressures, Lille had only two overnight stays recorded for every local inhabitant in the Nord region compared to Teleorman.
Romania
, noted only 20 overnight stays per 1,000 residents in 2023.
Between overtourism protests,
Spanish
In 2023, the island of Mallorca recorded 51 million overnight stays, ranking it as the top destination in Europe, despite having a population of only 966,000 people.
The
French
The capital, Paris, saw approximately 44 million overnight stays that year, contrasting with its populace of 2.1 million.
According to Which?, this made the city have the highest number of tourists per square kilometre at an impressive 418,280. This was followed by Athens in Greece with 88,534.92 tourists per square kilometre and then Copenhagen.
Denmark
(63,943.88).
Based on its findings, Murcia stands out as the least frequented section of Spain’s Mediterranean coastline, averaging only 486 overnight stays per square kilometer. Similarly, Haapsalu, an Estonian coastal town, offers tranquility with approximately 120 tourist overnights per square kilometer.
Rory Boland, editor of
Which? Travel
, stated: “The information we’re looking at reveals that overtourism has saturated several of Europe’s busiest tourist spots. Given the abundance of wonderful locations across Europe, the reality is that your vacation will be much more enjoyable in a place where the number of visitors isn’t significantly higher compared to the local population.”
Consider visiting Estonia for breathtaking coastlines and surprisingly mild temperatures in the summertime. Alternatively, if you prefer staying in Spain, Murcia offers an excellent choice.
Top 10 locations experiencing the greatest tourist influx
(tourists per 1,000 residents)
- Zante/Zakynthos (149,886.95)
- Istria, Croatia (133,466.93)
- Fuerteventura (118,720.31)
- Lanzarote (117,785.17)
- Dodecanese Islands (113,790.45)
- Tiroler Oberland, Austria (112,716.37)
- Pinzgau-Pongau, Austria (Salzburg Alps) (109,009.7)
- Cyclades (104,152.63)
- Kerkyra, Corfu (100,079.59)
- Außerfern, Austria (97,299.12)
To stay updated with more travel news and guidance, tune into Simon Calder’s podcast.
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