Overtourism: When Too Many Visitors Arrive

What happens when popular destinations attract more visitors than they can handle, and how cities from Venice to Barcelona are responding.

Tourism brings money and jobs. But when too many visitors crowd into the same places, residents face congestion, rising rents and the loss of everyday life. This problem is known as overtourism.

The costs of crowding

Popular destinations can suffer from:

Congestion: crowded streets, public transport and attractions.
Rising housing costs: as homes are converted into holiday rentals.
Loss of local shops: as businesses switch to serving tourists.
Environmental damage: erosion of trails, pollution and strain on water supplies.
Resident frustration: in 2024, residents in several Spanish cities, including Barcelona and Málaga, held protests against mass tourism.

Economists see many of these as externalities: costs that tourists impose on residents without paying for them.

Carrying capacity

Planners use the idea of carrying capacity: the number of visitors a place can handle without unacceptable harm to its environment, infrastructure or community. When visitor numbers exceed it, the benefits of extra tourism may be outweighed by the costs.

Responses

Cities and sites have tried several approaches:

Entry fees: Venice began charging day-trippers an entry fee on peak days in 2024, becoming one of the first cities to do so.
Caps and timed tickets: many attractions, such as the Alhambra in Spain, limit daily visitors with timed entry.
Limits on holiday rentals: Barcelona plans to phase out licences for short-term tourist flats by 2028.
Cruise restrictions: Venice banned large cruise ships from its central lagoon in 2021.
Spreading visitors: promoting less-visited places and off-peak seasons.

Machu Picchu's daily limits

Peru's Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca site, limits the number of daily visitors and requires timed tickets and set routes. The aim is to protect the fragile site while still allowing tourism that supports the local economy. Adjusting these limits involves balancing preservation against income for local communities.

Economic trade-offs

Limiting tourism reduces congestion but can cost jobs and income for businesses that depend on visitors. Economists often favour pricing tools, such as fees that rise at peak times, because they reduce crowding while raising money for local services.

Thinking the solution is simply fewer tourists

Overtourism is often about too many visitors in the same places at the same times, not too many overall. Spreading visitors across seasons and locations, and pricing peak demand, can reduce the harm while keeping many of the economic benefits.

Key takeaways

Overtourism occurs when visitor numbers exceed what a place can handle.
Congestion, rising rents and environmental damage are externalities imposed on residents.
Responses include entry fees, caps, timed tickets and limits on holiday rentals.
Pricing and spreading visitors can reduce harm while keeping economic benefits.