Surging travel in Europe spikes concerns over tourism's drawbacks
[June 23, 2025] By
SUMAN NAISHADHAM
MADRID (AP) — Suitcases rattle against cobblestones. Selfie-snappers
jostle for the same shot. Ice cream shops are everywhere. Europe has
been called the world’s museum, but its record numbers of visitors have
also made it ground zero for concerns about overtourism.
Last year, 747 million international travelers visited the continent,
far outnumbering any other region in the world, according to the U.N.'s
World Tourism Barometer. Southern and Western Europe welcomed more than
70% of them.
As the growing tide of travelers strains housing, water and the most
Instagrammable hotspots in the region, protests and measures to lessen
the effects of overtourism have proliferated.
Here's a look at the issue in some of Europe's most visited
destinations.
What’s causing overtourism
Among factors driving the record numbers are cheap flights, social
media, the ease of travel planning using artificial intelligence and
what U.N. tourism officials call a strong economic outlook for many rich
countries that send tourists despite some geopolitical and economic
tensions.
Citizens of countries like the U.S., Japan, China and the U.K. generate
the most international trips, especially to popular destinations, such
as Barcelona in Spain and Venice in Italy. They swarm these places
seasonally, creating uneven demand for housing and resources such as
water.
Despite popular backlash against the crowds, some tourism officials
believe they can be managed with the right infrastructure in place.
Italy's Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè said she thinks tourism flows
at crowded sites such Florence's Uffizi Galleries that house some of the
world's most famous artworks could be better managed with AI, with
tourists able to buy their tickets when they book their travel, even
months in advance, to prevent surges.
She pushed back against the idea that Italy — which like all of its
Southern European neighbors, welcomed more international visitors in
2024 than its entire population — has a problem with too many tourists,
adding that most visits are within just 4% of the country's territory.
“It’s a phenomenon that can absolutely be managed,” Santanchè told The
Associated Press in an interview in her office on Friday. "Tourism must
be an opportunity, not a threat — even for local communities. That’s why
we are focusing on organizing flows.”
Where overtourism is most intense
Countries on the Mediterranean are at the forefront. Olympics-host
France, the biggest international destination, last year received 100
million international visitors, while second-place Spain received almost
94 million — nearly double its own population.
Protests have erupted across Spain over the past two years. In
Barcelona, the water gun has become a symbol of the city's anti-tourism
movement after marching protests have spritzed unsuspecting tourists
while carrying signs saying: “One more tourist, one less resident!”
The pressure on infrastructure has been particularly acute on Spain's
Canary and Balearic Islands, which have a combined population of less
than 5 million people. Each archipelago saw upwards of 15 million
visitors last year.
Elsewhere in Europe, tourism overcrowding has vexed Italy's most popular
sites including Venice, Rome, Capri and Verona, where Shakespeare's
“Romeo and Juliet” was set. On the popular Amalfi Coast, ride-hailing
app Uber offers private helicopter and boat rides in the summer to beat
the crowds.
Greece, which saw nearly four times as many tourists as its own
population last year, has struggled with the strain on water, housing
and energy in the summer months, especially on popular islands such as
Santorini, Mykonos and others.
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A woman takes a selfie in front of Parthenon temple atop of the
ancient Acropolis hill during a heat wave in Athens, Greece, July
21, 2023. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
 The impact of overtourism
In Spain, anti-tourism activists, academics, and the government say
that overtourism is driving up housing costs in city centers and
other popular locations due to the proliferation of short-term
rentals that cater to visitors.
Others bemoan changes to the very character of city neighborhoods
that drew tourists in the first place.
In Barcelona and elsewhere, activists and academics have said that
neighborhoods popular with tourists have seen local shops replaced
with souvenir vendors, international chains and trendy eateries.
On some of Greece's most-visited islands, tourism has overlapped
with water scarcity as drought grips the Mediterranean country of
10.4 million.
In France, the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, shut down
this week when its staff went on strike warning that the facility
was crumbling beneath the weight of overtourism, stranding thousands
of ticketed visitors lined up under the baking sun.
Angelos Varvarousis, a Barcelona- and Athens-based academic and
urban planner who studies the industry, said overtourism risks
imposing a “monoculture” on many of Europe's hotspots.
“It is combined with the gradual loss and displacement of other
social and economic activities,” Varvarousis said.
What authorities are doing to cope
Spain's government wants to tackle what officials call the country's
biggest governance challenge: its housing crunch.
Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to take down almost
66,000 properties it said had violated local rules — while Barcelona
announced a plan last year to phase out all of the 10,000 apartments
licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028. Officials said
the measure was to safeguard the housing supply for full-time
residents.
Elsewhere, authorities have tried to regulate tourist flows by
cracking down on overnight stays or imposing fees for those visiting
via cruises.
In Greece, starting July 1, a cruise tax will be levied on island
visitors at 20 euros ($23) for popular destinations like Mykonos and
5 euros ($5.70) for less-visited islands like Samos.
The government has also encouraged visitors to seek quieter
locations.
To alleviate water problems, water tankers from mainland Greece have
helped parched islands, and the islands have also used desalination
technology, which separates salts from ocean water to make it
drinkable, to boost their drinking water.
Other measures have included staggered visiting hours at the
Acropolis.
Meanwhile, Venice brought back an entry fee this year that was
piloted last year on day-trippers who will have to pay between 5 and
10 euros (roughly $6 to $12) to enter the city during the peak
season.
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AP journalists Laurie Kellman in London, Derek Gatopoulos in Athens
and David Biller in Rome contributed to this report.
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