Svalbard, Chios, El Hierro: How these European islands have successfully avoided overtourism

Yahoo

29-05-2025

Mass tourism is once again testing the limits of Europe's most visited places - and islands are among the hardest hit.
With limited land and fragile infrastructure, record visitor numbers have driven up housing costs and stretched local services beyond breaking point.
In recent years, protests have erupted across archipelagos as residents call on local governments to start putting them first.
A new analysis from BookRetreats.com has delved into which islands are most overloaded and which have been quietly modelling a more sustainable approach.
"Tourism has transformed many of Europe's islands, but the pace and scale are no longer sustainable," says Sean Kelly, co-founder of BookRetreats.com.
"When local systems are stretched and communities are pushed out, it's a sign something needs to change. That's why it's so important we look at the data, understand where the pressure is highest, and start choosing destinations that can truly benefit from our presence."
The booking retreat website analysed the latest data from the European Commission, focusing on how many overnight stays in tourist accommodation there were per square kilometre (km2), a key measure of tourism density.
This metric shows how concentrated tourism becomes in small regions, particularly impactful on islands where infrastructure, land, and natural resources are limited.
Mallorca may be Europe's most visited island, but no destination packs more tourism into such a small space as Malta.
At just 316 km2, Malta is small enough to fit into London five times over, yet it sees more than 38,700 overnight stays per km2.
The pressure is visible across the archipelago, especially at tourist hotspots like Comino's Blue Lagoon, which draws up to 12,000 visitors a day in summer.
Due to the intense pressure these numbers place on the local environment and infrastructure, officials recently introduced a daily cap of 4,000 visitors at the site, and booking is now required.
Despite these clear problems, the government has announced plans to raise total arrivals to 4.5 million by 2034.
Predictably, after Malta in the ranking comes a series of Spanish islands.
Known for its golden beaches, volcanic trails, and year-round sunshine, Lanzarote has long been a magnet for holidaymakers. The data shows this island now sees more than 21,600 overnight stays per km2.
Tenerife records 16,873 overnight stays, followed closely by Gran Canaria with 16,709. Even Fuerteventura, often marketed as a quieter option, ranks 12th among the continent's most saturated islands.
Although tourism accounts for around 35 per cent of the Canary Islands' GDP, many residents say the cost of mass tourism outweighs the benefits.
As summer approaches, protests have spread across the islands, with thousands taking to the streets to call for caps on visitor numbers, stricter controls on short-term rentals, and protection of Canarian culture.
For decades, Ibiza and Formentera have drawn travellers with their turquoise waters and legendary nightlife. But for the 170,000 people who call these islands home, the scale of tourism has also become overwhelming.
Last year brought a record 3.7 million visitors, along with another season of rising rents, clogged roads, and crowded beaches. With over 17,000 overnight stays per km2, Ibiza and Formentera are the most overcrowded of the Balearic islands.
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While locals agree tourism is vital, many say the balance has tipped too far, pushing up living costs and making housing unaffordable.
In April 2025, the regional government approved a new set of Tourism Containment Measures to curb the impact. Among them, stricter enforcement of licenses for tourism rentals and a ban on creating new tourist accommodation in multi-family residential buildings.
Despite the glum outlook for many of Europe's islands, dozens remain examples of destinations where sustainable tourism benefits residents.
For travellers willing to venture north, Svalbard offers genuine serenity in Europe. With just 2.4 overnight stays per km2, the Arctic archipelago is the least crowded island destination on the continent.
Accessible from mainland Norway, Svalbard feels like a true frontier. In summer, the midnight
sun stretches across silent glaciers and wide fjords, making it one of the few places in Europe where you can hike, kayak, or simply sit without seeing a soul.
What makes Svalbard especially unique is its approach to tourism.
Over two-thirds of the archipelago is protected by national parks and nature reserves. Polar bears, Arctic foxes, and reindeer roam freely, while strict environmental rules dictate where visitors can go and how they travel.
Accommodation is limited, mostly traditional hotels and small hostels around Longyearbyen, with minimal new developments in the pipeline.
Cruise tourism, once on the rise here, is now being rethought. As Norway tightens environmental regulations, the future points toward smaller, low-impact expedition cruises instead of large ships.
Åland in Finland and Sweden's Gotland also rank among Europe's least overcrowded islands, all offering slower, more adventurous alternatives far from the usual crowds.
Despite being the fifth-largest island in Greece, Chios remains remarkably under the radar.
It's roughly the same size as Lanzarote, but sees around 21,000 fewer overnight stays per km2.
That's partly by design. Chios has long been economically self-sufficient, thanks to its rare mastic trees, which grow in only a few places in the world.
Without pressure to develop large-scale tourism, the island has taken a more sustainable approach, focusing instead on small, family-run pensions, converted stone houses, and preserving its cultural heritage.
Villages like Pyrgi and Mesta feel untouched by time, and the beaches, while beautiful, remain blissfully uncrowded. Nature is respected here, not packaged, and the result is a kind of tourism that fits the place, rather than reshaping it.
Other Greek islands that rank among Europe's least crowded include Euboea, Lesvos, Limnos, Ikaria, and Samos.
On the western edge of the Canaries, El Hierro feels worlds away from the region's busiest resort hubs. With just 610 overnight stays per km2, it is Spain's least crowded island destination.
Fewer than 11,000 people live on the island, and tourism remains intentionally small-scale.
There are no direct flights to El Hierro, which means it receives a handful of visitors compared to neighbouring Tenerife. There are around 1,000 guest beds, mostly in modest pensions and rural homes, and even the island's largest hotel has under 50 rooms.
The landscape is raw and striking: volcanic cliffs, natural swimming pools, ancient forests, and highland farms all sit within a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve.
Visitors come to hike, dive, and disconnect, but also to experience a slower, more rooted version of island life.
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Since tourism first began to develop on El Hierro, the island has prioritised a sustainable approach.
Rather than pursue volume, it has focused on environmental protection, self-sufficiency, and renewable energy, with the goal to reduce emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2050.
Tourism in El Hierro also supports, rather than replaces, traditional industries like agriculture, which produces 98 per cent of all pineapples grown in the Canary Islands.
Elsewhere in the Canaries, islands like La Palma and La Gomera appear to be avoiding the worst of mass tourism, but with visitor numbers rising across the archipelago, the window for maintaining that balance may be narrowing.