Surging travel in Europe spikes concerns over tourism's drawbacks
MADRID — 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.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Which food and drinks are banned on TUI, easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 flights?
When jetting off on holiday, it can be handy to have a snack and drink during the long flight. Airlines including easyJet, TUI and Ryanair offer a variety of food and beverages for purchase on board. But these can be pricey, and if you have a few passengers travelling with you, the costs can quickly mount. Thankfully, you are usually allowed to bring your own snacks onto the plane too, though some items are strictly off-limits. Different airlines have different rules, but some restrictions are universal, the ECHO reports. Here's a rundown of the foods and drinks you cannot bring on board easyJet, TUI, and other airlines: READ MORE: 'Massive loss' as police officer dies while on duty READ MORE: She told her boss about her foreign holidays - but not that they were 'paid for with his money' TUI passengers are provided with a meal and drinks on flights lasting longer than seven hours. On shorter routes, there is a trolley service with food and drinks that can be bought, though passengers may also bring their own food too. TUI suggests that these food items should be "low-risk food such as pre-made sandwiches and snacks that can be eaten cold" and also states its staff cannot provide heating facilities for food apart from heating up bottles for babies. Passengers are not allowed to consume any alcohol that wasn't bought on the plane. easyJet states that passengers are more than welcome to bring their own food on board, but does add that it sells a wide range of food customers can purchase from their seats. The travel operator also asks customers to be aware of the rules surrounding bringing certain food types into the country you are flying to. Information on the easyJet website reads: "You can bring food into the cabin, although we do sell a range of delicious food and drink on board. There's a 100ml limit for liquid food, like soup or custard. "Different countries have different regulations about importing food and drink, so make sure you check the rules for your destination." You may take hot drinks onto easyJet flights but these must have been bought at the airport, and have a tight lid on, for safety reasons. Ryanair allows passengers to bring food and soft drinks under its "feel free" policy, although it bans hot and alcoholic drinks, advising on their website: "In the interest of safety we cannot allow passengers to board the plane with hot drinks or consume their own alcohol during the flight." Meanwhile, Jet2 prohibits both hot food and beverages, with guidance from their website stating: "You may not bring hot food or hot drinks onboard the aircraft." However, the operator adds, "we do offer a great selection of food and drinks to purchase during your flight." Travellers can't bring "items which in our reasonable opinion are unsuitable for carriage by reason of their weight, size or character or which are fragile or perishable or which may affect the safety, health or comfort of other passengers or crew, this may include hot or strong smelling foods and drinks." And it's worth remembering that no matter which airline you travel with, under new rules you cannot take any meat or dairy into the EU. This is the case even if these items are within food products such as sandwiches, and it doesn't matter if you bought them at the airport or not.
San Francisco Chronicle
5 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Surging travel in Europe spikes concerns over tourism's drawbacks
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. 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.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
'We sold our house and possessions to travel the world with our child'
A family who sold almost everything they owned to travel the world have said they were "sick of the grind" of working life in western society. Emma, 34, and Joe, 33, gave up their house and possessions in Ripon, North Yorkshire, and flew to Central and South America with their 12-year-old daughter, Tilly. They set off on their adventure in January after taking Tilly out of school, and plan to find a new country to settle in. Joe, who worked as a mechanical engineer and technician in the renewable energy sector, said: "We wanted Tilly to have relevant life skills that we think the world is going to teach her. "Pulling Tilly out of school was a logistical hurdle, but it was an easy one. "School didn't argue, they actually pushed it and said, 'we don't blame you for doing what you're doing'." The family have learned Spanish and Tilly's maths developed as she got used to using difference currencies. Her confidence and cooking skills have also improved, her parents said. Joe added: "We're travelling around the world and she's involved in the logistics side of things - how we're going to get from this country to this country." Her mother Emma, a former occupational therapist and teaching assistant, added: "We are not massively concerned about her GCSEs. "A lot of people that we know that haven't done well with GCSEs have done well later on in life. I didn't get much out of school." Joe added that "life experience" would make Tilly more employable, although she could "pick up" GCSEs if she would like to sit exams. After starting their trip in Mexico, they have travelled through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, before relocating to Thailand. At each location, they have stayed at a mix of hotel and Airbnb accommodation, often negotiating a cheaper rate in exchange for promotion on their social media channels. Emma said the family "have looked at long-term rentals for a base", which would be cheaper, but had "complications" with their visas. "Tilly's already starting to miss having a house and a routine and friends, but we're also thinking that we don't know exactly where we want to call home yet and the only way we're going to find out is to keep travelling," Joe added. The family have now made friends among the expat community in Chiang Mai. Emma said: "For me, travelling is to get out of that western society of consumerism and constantly trying to work, and the grind. "I also want to be around people that are just grounded. Joe added: "I want to get away from the point of 'we need to make more money to buy a bigger house, we need to get more money to buy a better car, we need to get more money for better clothes'." However, the trip has not been plain sailing, as they left Colombia for Thailand after witnessing a young girl being held up at gunpoint. They felt "generally unsafe" in South America and changed their plans to tour the continent for around a year. Joe said they "fast-tracked" their visit to south-east Asia and now "don't really know" when they will return to the UK to visit their elder daughter and other family members. Their 16-year-old has moved in with her grandmother and "understood" that her parents, who were in their teens when she was born, wanted to explore and travel. Joe and Emma resigned from their jobs and rehomed the family dog before leaving, and said some of their relatives struggled to understand their decision. Emma said: "The older generation see it as 'you need to graft hard' and they don't really understand the technology and the different ways of working now." The couple post about their travels on social media under the "Smiths On Tour" account. Joe said: "We're just an average family from the UK that have completely jumped out of our comfort zone." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. 'You couldn't pay me to move back to England' Adventurer to kayak across the British Isles Cake for breakfast? Sometimes that's what you need
