The Impact of Overtourism and How to Be Part of the Solution

I arrived at the Acropolis at 8 AM on a Tuesday in July, thinking I had beaten the crowds. By 8:30, the line to enter snaked back down the hill, and the viewing platform was so packed that I could barely raise my camera without elbowing someone. A guide told me that the site receives up to 17,000 visitors per day during peak season, far more than the ancient stones were designed to handle. That experience, repeated in various forms in Venice, Dubrovnik, and Bali, made me start thinking about what overtourism is doing to the places we claim to love.

"Tourism is like fire: it can cook your food or burn your house down." — Anonymous tourism official, quoted in the Guardian

What Overtourism Actually Looks Like

Overtourism is not the same as popularity. A destination can be busy without being overwhelmed. Overtourism occurs when visitor numbers exceed the physical, social, or environmental capacity of a place, degrading the experience for visitors and the quality of life for residents. The symptoms are visible: overcrowded landmarks, long lines, strained infrastructure, rising housing costs that push out locals, and environmental damage from foot traffic, pollution, and waste. Barcelona receives an estimated 32 million visitors per year, more than the entire population of Australia, and residents of the Gothic Quarter have reported being unable to sleep because of noise from late-night pub crawls.

Venice provides one of the most extreme examples. The city's historic center has a permanent population of roughly 50,000, down from 175,000 in the 1950s, while receiving 25 to 30 million visitors per year. Day-trippers, who arrive on cruise ships and leave without spending money on accommodation, contribute to crowding without contributing to the local economy. In 2024, Venice introduced a 5-euro entry fee for day-trippers on peak days, a controversial measure designed to manage visitor numbers. The fee generated about 2.4 million euros in its first year, but critics argue that it does not address the fundamental problem of too many people in too little space.

The environmental impact of overtourism is equally serious. In the Philippines, Boracay Island was closed for six months in 2018 after President Duterte called it a "cesspool" because of sewage from hotels and restaurants flowing directly into the ocean. The island reopened after a massive cleanup, but visitor numbers are now capped at 19,215 per day, less than half the pre-closure peak. In Iceland, the number of visitors to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa has grown from 300,000 in 2013 to over 1.3 million annually, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of the geothermal resource and the surrounding lava field.

Destinations That Are Getting It Right

Some destinations have implemented effective strategies to manage visitor numbers without closing their doors entirely. Dubrovnik, Croatia, which saw cruise ship passenger numbers swell to over 10,000 per day in 2017, now caps the number of visitors allowed inside the old town walls at 4,000 at any given time. Electronic counters at the gates track entries and exits in real time. The result has been a noticeably more pleasant experience for both visitors and residents, with restaurant wait times dropping and the streets becoming walkable again.

New Zealand has taken a different approach with its Tiaki Promise, a voluntary code of conduct that asks visitors to act as guardians of the land. The promise, promoted through in-flight videos, airport signage, and social media, asks travelers to travel safely, protect nature, and respect local culture. While voluntary, the program has been widely adopted and has helped shift visitor behavior without heavy-handed regulation. The country also doubled its international visitor levy in 2023 to $100 NZD per person, with the revenue funding conservation and infrastructure projects.

Bhutan has perhaps the most famous visitor management system in the world. The kingdom charges a Sustainable Development Fee of $100 per person per night (increased from $65 in 2022), which funds free education and healthcare for all Bhutanese citizens. Visitors must book through a licensed Bhutanese tour operator or an international agency partnered with one. The system keeps visitor numbers manageable (about 300,000 per year before the pandemic) while ensuring that tourism revenue directly benefits the population. The result is a country that feels genuinely unspoiled, where traditional culture is intact and the environment is pristine.

How to Travel Responsibly in Popular Places

The simplest and most effective thing individual travelers can do is change when they visit. Shoulder season travel, the periods between peak and off-peak, offers a triple benefit: lower prices, fewer crowds, and a more positive impact on local communities. Visiting Venice in November instead of July means you will share the city with residents rather than with thousands of other tourists, and your spending will be more valuable to local businesses that struggle during the quiet months. Visiting Japan in October instead of April means you will avoid the cherry blossom crowds and still enjoy beautiful autumn foliage.

Where you go matters just as much as when. Popular destinations like Paris, Rome, and Bali have well-known alternatives that offer similar experiences with a fraction of the crowds. Instead of Santorini, consider Milos or Folegandros, Greek islands with similar volcanic Scene and far fewer visitors. Instead of Dubrovnik, try Kotor in neighboring Montenegro, which has an equally beautiful old town and a fraction of the cruise ship traffic. Instead of Angkor Wat at sunrise (where hundreds of tripods compete for space), visit the temples of Banteay Srei or Beng Mealea, which are equally stunning and receive a fraction of the visitors.

How you spend your money is perhaps the most powerful tool you have. Choose locally owned hotels and guesthouses over international chains. Eat at restaurants that source ingredients locally and pay fair wages. Book tours with local operators rather than multinational companies. Buy souvenirs directly from artisans. Every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of tourism you want to see more of. Research before you go: the Responsible Travel Guide, published by the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), offers destination-specific advice for over 50 countries.

The Role of Technology in Managing Crowds

Technology is increasingly being used to distribute visitors more evenly across time and space. In China, the Forbidden City in Beijing has implemented a real-time reservation system that limits daily visitors to 80,000, down from a peak of over 180,000. Visitors must book timed entry slots through the Palace Museum's WeChat mini-program, and the system adjusts availability based on crowd density sensors installed throughout the complex. The result has been a dramatic improvement in the visitor experience, with wait times dropping from over two hours to under 30 minutes.

active pricing, already used by airlines and hotels, is being applied to tourist attractions to shift demand away from peak times. The Louvre in Paris has experimented with higher ticket prices during peak summer months and lower prices during quieter periods, though the system is still being refined. In the US, Zion National Park introduced a reservation system for its most popular canyon in 2022, requiring visitors to book timed entry slots between April and November. The system reduced peak-hour congestion by about 30% and spread visitors more evenly throughout the day.

Crowd-sourced data is also helping travelers avoid overcrowded spots. The Google Maps "Popular Times" feature shows how busy a location is at different times of day, based on anonymized location data from users' phones. Apps like HappyCow help travelers find restaurants beyond the tourist zones, distributing dining spending more evenly across neighborhoods. In Iceland, the SafeTravel.is app shows real-time conditions at popular natural sites, including crowd levels, weather, and road conditions, allowing travelers to adjust their plans on the fly.

Community-Based Solutions That Work

The most effective solutions to overtourism come from the communities that are most affected by it. In Barcelona, the organization Barcelona Ens Temps (Barcelona Has Time) has pushed for policies that prioritize residents' quality of life over tourist numbers, including restrictions on short-term rental apartments and limits on the size of tour groups in the Gothic Quarter. Their advocacy has contributed to a citywide debate about what kind of tourism Barcelona wants, leading to stricter enforcement of existing regulations and a freeze on new hotel licenses in the city center.

In Hawaii, the Hawaii Tourism Authority shifted its focus in 2020 from promoting visitor arrivals to managing them, with a target of "regenerative tourism" that leaves the islands better than they were found. The authority now funds community-based tourism programs that connect visitors with local cultural practitioners, farmers, and conservation organizations. Visitors to Maui can participate in reef restoration projects through organizations like Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, and visitors to the Big Island can work on invasive species removal with the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park volunteer program.

In Peru, the community of Huacachina, an oasis village near Ica, has implemented a visitor management plan that limits the number of dune buggies allowed on the sand dunes at any given time and requires tour operators to follow designated routes to prevent erosion. The plan was developed in consultation with the local community and tour operators, and revenue from tour permits funds a reforestation project in the surrounding desert. The result has been a reduction in environmental damage without a significant impact on tour operators' income.

Being Part of the Solution

Every traveler has the power to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Start by researching your destination before you go. Understand the local culture, learn a few words of the language, and find out which areas are most affected by overcrowding. Choose accommodations outside the main tourist zones; you will save money, get a more authentic experience, and help distribute economic benefits more evenly. Walk or cycle instead of taking taxis in congested areas. Visit popular sights early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Respect the rules and guidelines that destinations have put in place. If a site limits daily visitors, book in advance rather than trying to bypass the system. If a beach is closed to protect nesting sea turtles, go to a different beach. If a temple asks visitors to dress modestly, dress modestly. These rules exist because previous visitors caused problems, and ignoring them makes it harder for everyone who comes after you. Leave no trace: carry out everything you carry in, stay on marked trails, and do not feed or touch wildlife.

Finally, consider offsetting the impact of your visit by giving something back. Volunteer for a beach cleanup, donate to a local conservation organization, or participate in a community tourism program. In many destinations, the difference between a visitor who takes and a visitor who contributes is simply awareness and a willingness to adjust. The places we love to visit will only continue to be worth visiting if we take care of them. Overtourism is not an inevitable consequence of travel; it is a consequence of travel without responsibility.