Canadians rethink travel as overtourism crowds iconic destinations

Globe and Mail

25-06-2025

When Lily Carlson and her husband sat down to plan their travel for the year, Greece and Thailand were high on their bucket list.
But the pull of these iconic destinations was overshadowed by the thought of having to wade through the crowds at landmarks while contributing to the overtourism sweeping the countries.
Greece, for example, saw nearly four times as many tourists as its own population last year, and its islands of Santorini and Mykonos are feeling the strain of surging water and housing demand.
'It's the drawback of mass tourism and the challenges that local communities there are facing' that persuaded Ms. Carlson and her family, from Acton, Ont., to consider lesser-known locales, she said.
They headed to Nosara in Costa Rica, away from the tourist hotspots. Average nightly stays there hovered affordably around $95-$165 on the low end or around $290 for higher-end accommodations.
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A growing number of Canadians are looking to follow their lead. Data published in June from a YouGov survey commissioned by Flight Centre Canada showed that 71 per cent of Canadian travellers are concerned about the growing negative impact of overtourism on local communities, and 78 per cent said that many hotspots are too busy to enjoy.
But seeking out less crowded destinations has become that much more complicated for Canadians avoiding the United States, making the list of international alternatives even shorter.
In Portugal – where anti-tourism protests erupted again last week – Canadian visitor numbers jumped 11.3 per cent year-over-year. Airfares to Faro and Funchal jumped 3 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, for summer 2025, Kayak data showed.
Canadian travel to Japan rose nearly 30 per cent between January and April, 2025, from the same period a year earlier, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. In response to overcrowding, some towns are building barriers to block views of Mount Fuji, among other efforts to reduce tourist congestion.
Elizabeth Becker, author of Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism, compared overtourism to throwing a dinner party clogged with uninvited guests. 'You invite 12 people and 2,000 show up.'
Places are not meant to be 'trampled like this,' she said. 'And if they're not equipped to welcome you – that's overbooked.'
Even for travellers who aren't motivated by sustainability, overtourism hurts their wallets – and travel experiences.
'Just imagine standing in line to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, shoulder to shoulder with thousands of people,' said Amra Durakovic of Flight Centre Canada.
In Paris, that very scenario reached a boiling point last week when Louvre employees walked off the job, citing unmanageable guest volumes, a shortage of bathrooms and rest seating.
Canadians visiting Paris and Barcelona – both at the epicentre of overtourism – are now likely to pay more for a lesser experience too.
Barcelona recorded an all-time high of over 2.3 million overnight stays in January, 2025, and the highest-ever March average daily rate of €197.09 ($314), up 27.7 per cent year over year, according to CoStar. Average flight costs to the city from Canada jumped 2 per cent this summer to $1,149, Kayak data showed.
Spain's consumer affairs ministry ordered Airbnb to remove over 65,000 listings in spring and plans to shutter all of the 10,000 licensed short-term rental apartments in the city by 2028.
International tourism levels are back to pre-COVID levels, but there is uneven distribution, said Michael O'Regan, lecturer in tourism and events at Glasgow Caledonian University. 'Traffic is highly concentrated in a relatively small number of 'honeypot' destinations,' he said, including Venice, Amsterdam, Barcelona, parts of Paris.
In Paris, another destination where the number of annual tourists exceeds the population, international air arrivals are projected to jump 13 per cent year-over-year from April to July.
Booking.com data also showed searches for Paris by Canadians surged 106 per cent year-over-year last month.
'It's not that locals don't want tourists, it's just excessive,' Ms. Durakovic said.
Mr. O'Regan added that anti-tourism protests are typically small and targeted at politicians. They link to 'deeper issues [around] housing costs, quality jobs and broader inequalities,' he said.
Destinations want and need tourism for economic reasons. But he added that some have focused on maximizing visitor numbers without adequately planning for the social, environmental and infrastructure impacts.
'Many of these honeypot destinations are near equally stunning towns,' he said. 'Provins is just 90 minutes from Paris. Sirmione is an hour from Verona.'
In Portugal, Ms. Durakovic suggested skipping Porto in favour of Braga or Guimarães.
Braga, often called the 'Rome of Portugal,' is the country's oldest Christian city. 'Rich in religious heritage, and baroque architecture, it's also in the heart of the Vinho Verde region, ideal for vineyard tours.'
Bruges in Belgium and France's Strasbourg offer similar magic to Venetian canals, where locals have been chafing against overtourism – most recently with the backlash to Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos all but taking over the city for his wedding.
'Romania's great for those seeking slower-paced, culture-driven travel beyond the usual tourist spots,' said Ms. Carlson, who also shares sustainable travel tips on her social media accounts. She stayed in Brașov, where nightly costs ranged from $55 to $95 on the low end and up to $290 at the high end.
The city, nestled in the Carpathian Mountains, is a gateway to sites like Bran Castle, better known as Dracula's hideaway and well-preserved medieval towns like Sibiu and Sighișoara.