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Overtourism in Europe: Inevitable or avoidable?
By Donna Williams •
Published: 01 Aug 2024 • 20:16
• 3 minutes read
‘Overtourism’ has become the latest buzzword; it is everywhere, and the news is littered with stories concerning locals protesting and taking action against overtourism all across Europe.
Take Spain for example, where protesters in Barcelona were so incensed that they took to spraying unsuspecting tourists with water guns. This was far from an isolated incident, as the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and Andalusia have all had their fair share of demonstrations.
Where once tourism provided a welcome economic boost, we seem to have stepped into a new era where overtourism has suffocated Europe’s most popular destinations. The question is though, did this just kind of creep up on us or actually was it entirely predictable and even avoidable?
Overtourism in Europe on the radar in 2018
Interestingly, academics had been predicting the need to ‘take action before it’s too late’ following a study conducted by Roland Berger in December 2018. This would also put pay to the theory that overtourism is a fall-out from the impact of COVID-19, although perhaps it did exacerbate the situation.
The study highlighted that in recent years, cities have been working hard to attract tourists in increasing numbers and that urban tourism still needs to be expertly controlled to remain successful and sustainable over time. Failing to do so results in local residents becoming irritated by social factors such as noise pollution, traffic congestion, and overcrowded restaurants.
This finding is further supported by a model developed by George Doxey back in 1975, coined the ‘Irritation Index (Irridex). He theorised that a place may start welcoming tourists with euphoria, but as their numbers increase, the sentiment devolves into apathy and irritation. I guess residents resorting to using water pistols now makes a bit more sense!
Overtourism in Europe was far from inevitable
However, according to the Roland Berger study, overtourism was far from inevitable and, with the right interventions, could have been avoided. For example, a key proactive move would have been to align the city’s tourism strategy with its development strategy, which takes into account urban infrastructure, environmental aspects, and smart city offerings.
Another measure they suggested in their report was to target the luxury guest segment with the right offerings, shifting the tourism spectrum to a focus on quality over quantity. They further identified that as soon as a trend toward ‘overtourism’ becomes apparent, preventative measures needed to be taken including limiting hotel beds and regulating private rentals. Of course, we have now witnessed much of the latter here in Spain, but is it a question of too little too late?
Richard Butler, emeritus professor in hospitality and tourism management at the University of Strathclyde appeared to concur when he said, “The main reason is the places that are experiencing overtourism are places that didn’t take measures to prevent it happening years and years ago.”
Overtourism in Europe a reason to curb the growth?
When it comes to how the local residents are reacting to their situation, Butler feels that they should not all be shoe-horned into a specific type, as their emotions could be different depending on their exposure to tourists. For instance, a souvenir shop owner may think differently about tourism than the residents of a popular neighbourhood.
Indeed, those benefiting from the influx of tourists are ‘making hay while the sun shines’ by hiking prices to new levels which adds to the frustration of local residents. For example, one Euro Weekly News reader shared how a café wanted to charge €35 for a pre-cooked tomato omelette. As she said, “Who can afford this?.”
So, should Europe now be looking to curb the growth of tourism altogether? Not according to Richard Berger. In fact, he believes that if it halts, that will probably be seen as a ‘warning’ of sorts.
Instead, he advises that there needs to be more dialogue to find a balance between what kind of tourists residents are comfortable with and continuing to bring in money for local businesses and the tourism industry.
Over to you – Have you been affected by overtourism and do you think more needs to be done about it?
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