How tourists are crushing hotspots in Europe, world’s most visited region

Massive overtourism is straining resources in European tourist hotspots from Spain to Greece, but some governments are trying to fight back

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People demonstrate during a protest against overtourism in Barcelona in June 2024. The Spanish city remains at the forefront of a problem in Europe that shows little sign of ending. Photo: AP

Published: 12:14pm, 24 Jun 2025

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.

In 2024, 747 million international travellers visited the continent, far outnumbering any other region in the world, according to the United Nations’ World Tourism Barometer. Southern and western Europe welcomed more than 70 per cent of them.

As the growing tide of travellers strains housing, water and the most Instagrammable hotspots in the region, protests and measures to lessen the effects of overtourism have proliferated.

Among the factors driving the record numbers are cheap flights, social media, the ease of travel planning using artificial intelligence, and what UN tourism officials call a strong economic outlook for many rich countries that send tourists despite some geopolitical and economic tensions.

An activist holds a banner that reads “stop cruises” as part of a march to demand measures against mass tourism in Mallorca, Spain, on June 15, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE

Citizens of countries such as the United States, Japan, China and the United Kingdom generate the most international trips, especially to popular destinations such as Barcelona in Spain and Venice in Italy.

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