Europe Overtourism Prompts New Vacation Trends
Mallorca protests against overtourism in 2024—more are planned across Europe in summer 2025
AFP via Getty Images
Europe overtourism became a defining issue for global travel during the Summer of 2024. With record-breaking tourist numbers predicted for 2025, many iconic destinations are implementing measures to combat overcrowding, and protests are planned throughout Europe. Travelers should reconsider their habits and destinations to ensure overtourism doesn't ruin their vacation.
2024 marked a pivotal year for global tourism, with international arrivals reaching 96% of pre-pandemic levels and stories of overtourism dominated headlines across Europe. It was the year that European residents and municipalities said enough to granting unlimited access to favorite vacation destinations. Venice introduced a tourist tax, cities like Amsterdam and Florence implemented restrictions on short-term rentals, and the Greek Acropolis limited daily visitors to 20,000. Cruise companies reacted to the anti-tourist flavor and shifted to the Caribbean instead.
The tourist industry has responded to overtourism by placing sustainability at the forefront of travel experiences, and 'destination dupes' have become commonplace in travel parlance—"want to avoid the crowds in Paris? Head to Antwerp or Bruges instead!"
There are reasons to think, though, that Europe is heading for another perfect summer storm of overtourism: Analysts believe that international travel will see the most significant movement yet. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted that at the end of 2024, airlines will transport more than 5 billion people this year, the most ever. While it's unclear how Trump's tariffs may impact longer-term consumer spending on trips, that's a 6.7% rise compared to 2024.
The New York Times reports that anti-tourist groups plan to protest throughout Europe on 15 June. Leaders from the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification have yet to decide on the exact form of demonstrations. Still, they discussed tactics including marches, airport picketing, obstructing tourist entry to historic sites, and blockading tour buses.
New research from the European Travel Commission (ETC) shows that intra-European travel, that is, Europeans intending to travel in Europe this summer, is up from last year. Travelers are planning longer stays and spending more.
Europe has been troubled by overtourism since 1843, when Victor Hugo complained that "soon Biarritz will put ramps on its dunes, stairs on its precipices, kiosks on its rocks, benches on its caves. Then Biarritz will no longer be Biarritz; it will be something discoloured, like Dieppe and Ostend."
France is the most visited country in the world—72.4 million tourists in 2023, and 1.6 million more than the following most popular country, Spain—and specific sites can quickly get overcrowded. The French government has been trying to redirect the 80% of its tourists who visit just 20% of its sites, such as Mont Saint Michel and Normandy's stunning cliffs of Étretat, since 2023—sometimes by posting pictures of long queues on social media to discourage more visitors from arriving.
According to Statista, however, France has a lower tourist density than its neighbor Spain, where the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and the Canary Islands are among Europe's most visited destinations, relative to their population. And it's Spanish locals who protested the most in 2024, whether shooting water pistols at tourists in Barcelona, repeatedly walking back and forth across pedestrian crossings in the north to stop traffic heading to the beach, or holding a hunger strike in Tenerife. Locals living on the 116 bus route in Barcelona successfully petitioned the local council to ask Google and Apple Maps to take the bus route offline to stop overtourism.
It might be pertinent, therefore, to avoid those places that are most often seen on social media when visiting Western Europe.
Heepsy, the influencer marketing platform, studied Europe's most overcrowded Instagram destinations for 2025 to help travelers decide where to head. It takes tourist density (tourists per km²) and Instagram hashtag counts to reflect physical congestion and social media popularity—an interesting concept, similar to France Tourism's idea of sending out social messages when a place gets too busy.
Geneva, Paris, and Rome were the top three cities. Geneva has 8 million annual visitors in a compact area, so its tourist-to-area ratio is significantly high, particularly around its impressive Jet d'Eau Fountain. Paris has a much larger urban area but ranks highly because of its 50 million annual visitors. And Rome leads all cities with 31 million Instagram hashtags. While the Italian city has the largest urban area among the top 10 cities, which would typically reduce overcrowding, its social media popularity and 35 million annual visitors create significant congestion. Rome generates over six times more Instagram hashtags than Geneva.
Tabi Vicuña, Founder of Heepsy, said of the report: "The growing disconnect between social media popularity and physical tourism capacity represents a fundamental challenge for European destination management. When compact historic centers attract millions of visitors into spaces never designed for such volumes, the congestion threatens the visitor experience and local quality of life." Slight Shift In Travel Destinations, But Will It Avoid Europe Overtourism?
Luckily, there are signs that travelers are turning slightly away from the perennial European favorites. The ETC research, Monitoring Sentiment for Intra-European Travel , shows a slight dip in popularity for traditional Mediterranean hotspots—down 8%—while interest in Eastern Europe is rising, up 3% year-on-year.
The end of 2024 heralded many top lists for travel, and many of these confirmed that travelers are increasingly looking to the east of Europe, where Albania, for example, has risen in popularity. Aside from overtourism, this trend is probably related to the need for consumers to see their money stretch further on vacations in a time of political and economic uncertainty—a win-win on both counts.
Should you wish to avoid the crowds, CNTraveler lists seven European destinations off the usual must-see lists. The irony is that once they appear on a list of less-crowded places, they're usually the opposite: Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Austria, Hungary, and Montenegro.
However, the figures seem staggering: Compared to 2024 figures, Montenegro's bookings are up by 24%, according to one travel agent, for July, August, and September 2025; Budapest's by 143%; Austria by 243%; Turkey by 272%; the Czech Republic by 309%; Croatia by 356%, and Slovenia by a whopping 473% on 2024 summer reservation data. Controlling Europe Overtourism—Maybe Dynamic Pricing Is The Answer?
Quotas are an increasingly common tactic for managers of sites, such as limiting daytrippers to the stony limestone cliffs of Sugiton Calanque in Marseille, to just 400 people. The Louvre, the most visited museum in the world, which welcomes nine million visitors annually, is planning to limit visitor numbers and encourage visitors to view a broader range of artwork than just the Mona Lisa. The island of Bréhat in Brittany in the north of France reintroduced a morning quota on boats to control overtourism.
Pricing is another answer. Venice is combating overtourism by expanding its entrance fee, introduced in 2024, to more days throughout the year in 2025. And hotel taxes have existed for over a decade in many large cities.
Statista argues that these entry and hotel taxes are too broad to be effective; a better approach would be to use dynamic pricing to match supply with demand. Instead of the same price all year, why not charge more in peak periods, encouraging people to travel off-season or when less crowded? Hotels might benefit from a steadier stream of revenue year-round. Statista also argues that hotel taxes could be structured as a percentage of the room rate, adding in a seasonality index, meaning that people who buy the most expensive rooms pay more, particularly if they travel in summer.
A global SiteMinder poll suggests that consumers agree with this dynamic pricing during busy periods; 65% of respondents agreed with this sentiment compared to just 13% who disagreed.
It's wise to investigate whether your insurance covers overtourism, as many policies will now pay out, if, for instance, the town closes a site because of overcrowding that you have already booked a trip to visit. Or you could buy a policy with a Cancel For Any Reason clause if you're apprehensive after less-than-happy news coverage of your intended destination for any reason related to overtourism.
As overtourism continues to disrupt popular destinations, travelers face a choice: adapt to sustainable travel practices or risk overcrowded, diminished experiences. With dynamic pricing, quotas, and alternative destinations gaining traction, the tourism industry is evolving, but the key to a fulfilling vacation in 2025 lies in thoughtful planning.
It's worth noting that Academician Jean Mistler wrote that "tourism is the industry that consists of transporting people who would be better off at home, to places that would be better off without them." In light of Europe overtourism, your vacation will benefit if you fully consider how many people might have arrived by the time you reach your destination. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes Overtourism May Prompt Tourists To Rethink 2025 Travel Plans By Alex Ledsom Forbes What It Means To Be Wealthy In Japan By Alex Ledsom Forbes The World's Happiest, Wealthiest And Smartest Places, Per New Reports By Alex Ledsom
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