Anti-tourism

Many popular holiday spots are struggling with overtourism

Holidays are a chance to get away and immerse yourself in new culture, see world-famous landmarks and experience new foods. However, it can be less than enjoyable if there are hundreds of other tourists there as well.

After years not travelling due to the pandemic, it seems most of us want to get back out there and see as much as we can. Tourists from all over the world have headed to popular destinations, with some now feeling overcrowded.

In the UK, Edinburgh Castle claimed the top spot of the world’s most overcrowded landmark. But, a 2023 study from MoneyTransfers.com revealed the most overcrowded destinations in the world.

According to their research, Phuket in Thailand is the most crowded tourist destination in the world. It has staggering 118 tourists to every local resident.

Phuket is one of the leading beach destinations in Thailand and is home to several of the world’s best. Kata and Karon rank as some of the best beaches in the world.

Due to its stunning scenery and popularity, tourists may find overcrowded beaches particularly during peak season. Thailand’s Pattaya and Krabi also ranked as the second and third most overcrowded spots in the world.

It means Thailand has the most spots on the top 10 list, followed by Greece and Turkey. Heraklion in Greece took the seventh spot on the overcrowded list as it has 22 tourists to every local resident.

Not surprisingly, Venice in Italy also ranked on the list as it has 21 tourists to every resident.

Simone Venturini, the newly appointed mayor of Venice, recently announced plans to significantly raise a contentious tourist charge for visitors entering the historic city.

In 2024, Venice made history as the first tourist destination to impose an entry fee, initially set at €5, on busy days spanning April to July.

Additional days were added to the scheme, with the charge for last-minute visitors later rising to €10, roughly £8.60.

Local politicians hoped levy would help alleviate overcrowding in the ancient city and would deter people from visiting during peak periods. This comes as approximately 30 million people annually are believed to flock to Venice.

Now, Mr Venturini is now pushing to raise the entry fee to as much as €50. Rhodes in Greece also made the list with over 20 tourists for every resident, while Miami in the US has 18 tourists to every local.

The world’s most overcrowded destinations

1. Phuket, Thailand
2. Pattaya, Thailand
3. Krabi, Thailand
4. Mugla, Turkey
5. Hurghada, Turkey
6. Macau, China
7. Heraklion, Greece
8. Venice, Italy
9. Rhodes, Greece
10. Miami, USA

Many holiday hotspots have seen anti-tourism protests thanks to overcrowding and the issues it causes for locals. But the European island that’s the most overcrowded wants to pack more visitors in

The most overcrowded island in Europe has seen no over-tourism protests – and bosses want more visitors.

A study has named the Continent’s most packed island, based on tourism density, and it’s not in the Balearics or Canaries.

In fact, the local tourism board wants to bring more visitors to the island and triple the tourism sector’s contribution to the economy. The plans would see the island’s visitor numbers rise from just over four million last year to 4.5 million by 2035.

With a total area of 316 km², Malta is roughly a fifth of the size of London and has a population of around 575,000, about a third of which are foreign residents. This means there’s a ratio of roughly seven tourists for each resident, so locals are already outnumbered.

The study was carried out by BookRetreats.com, which “analysed the latest data from the European Commission, focusing on overnight stays in tourist accommodation per square kilometre (km²)—a measure of tourism density.”

While Mallorca (Majorca) had the most visitors out of the islands in the study, nearly 14 million last year, Malta’s mainland came on top as the most overcrowded island due to its relatively small size. Brits account for the largest number of visitors year-round, and the island has long been a winter sun destination thanks to its 16C days in January and a majority of the island being fluent in English.

The capital, Valletta, has become a popular spot for sun-soaked city breaks thanks to its colourful 16th-century architecture, and the ancient walled city of Mdina is also a hit with tourists thanks to its winding medieval streets. It’s also famous for its beaches, especially in the north of the island, which has turquoise blue seas and calm, shallow waters.

But there have been some measures put in place on Malta’s islands to help ease overcrowding. For example, the Blue Lagoon on Comino used to get daily crowds of up to 12,000 in the summer, and in response, authorities capped tourist numbers to the white sand beach at 4,000 a day. There have since been calls to halve this number to protect the delicate ecosystem.

The islands of Gozo and Comino came 14th on the list, meaning while they’re still overcrowded, they don’t have the same tourism density as Malta’s mainland.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Spanish islands dominated much of the list of the most overcrowded spots, with Lanzarote, Ibiza, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria ranking highly. Greek islands including Corfu and Zakynthos (Zante), also made the top ten, as well as the Portuguese island of Madeira, which is also a winter sun favourite with Brits.

Europe’s Most Overcrowded Islands – full list

1. Malta (mainland)
2. Lanzarote, Spain
3. Ibiza and Formentera, Spain
4. Tenerife, Spain
5. Gran Canaria, Spain
6. Corfu, Greece
7. Zakynthos, Greece
8. Mallorca, Spain
9. Madeira, Portugal
10. Dodecanese Islands, Greece (Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos, Rhodes)
11. Menorca, Spain
12. Fuerteventura, Spain
13. Cyclades Islands, Greece (Andros, Santorini, Kea, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Syros, Tinos)
14. Gozo and Comino, Malta
15. Lefkada, Greece

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Cruise passengers who dock for the day in Barcelona now face having to pay a hefty fee per passenger per day, as the mayor looks to slash the number of short-stay cruise visitors to zero

Barcelona’s city council has approved plans to triple the amount that cruise passengers pay when they take a day trip to the popular city break hotspot.

The levy for cruise ship passengers will be hiked from €8 to €24 per passenger. In addition, a €6 regional tourist tax is already payable to visitors who spend less than 12 hours in Barcelona, which means the cost of setting foot in the capital for cruise passengers will rise to €30 per person, just under £26.

The hike is part of Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni’s plans to slash cruise tourism to the Catalan city according to cruise news outlet Deep Arrival.

Barcelona welcomed around 16 million visitors in 2025, 3.99 million of which were cruise passengers, with campaigners claiming that the influx puts a strain on public services and leads to overcrowding during the peak summer months. The tax increase is aimed at discouraging cruises from visiting the city completely, rather than just reducing overall numbers.

In July 2025, the city’s council approved plans to gradually increase the levy paid by cruise passengers gradually over four years, but reports within cruise trade publications indicate that this timeline could be sped up, and higher charges could be implemented as soon as 2027.

Cruises that begin or end in Barcelona would not be charged this increased fee, as these sailings are seen to have a postive impact on the city compared to day trips. A report on the sustainability of cruises on the city showed that day trippers from cruises spent an average of 5.7 hours in the city, and mostly visited popular attractions as as the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.

Last year, Barcelona cut the number of cruise terminals from seven to five, and began to reroute larger cruise ships away from the most central ports, which now prioritise smaller boats and local marine traffic.

It’s not just cruise passengers who’ll pay higher fees in Barcelona. As of April 1, general accommodation tourist taxes have also increased, making them among the highest in Europe. Visitors pay both a regional and a municipal surcharge, meaning the total tourist tax ranges from €7 to €12 per person per night (approximately £6 to £10.38).

Barcelona has been at the heart of the overtourism protests sweeping Spain, and in June 2025 the city hit the headlines as protestors marched through the streets holding signs with slogans such as “Your Airbnb used to be my home”, and people sitting on outside terraces were squirted with water pistols.

Further protests are expected this summer from groups such as Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism More Life), including protests in Palma, Majorca set for July 26 to coincide with the start of school holiday season.

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Brits heading to popular Spanish islands this summer may find themselves at the heart of anti-tourism protests, with a pressure group insisting that there will be a “historic turnout”

Spain’s anti-tourism protests could escalate this summer, as pressure group Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism More Life) announced plans for a major demonstration that it expects to have a “historic turnout”.

The news comes as sites in the Canary Islands have been daubed with anti-tourist graffiti, including reports from local news outlet Canarian Weekly of a ‘kill a tourist’ slogan being spotted in Tenerife. The graffiti was spotted by two expats hiking in Punta del Hidalgo, who then claimed they saw further disturbing graffiti during a walk to Bollullo Beach on the island’s north coast.

In a separate incident last week, five estate agents in Majorca with international names were daubed with graffiti including ‘guilty’ and ‘Guiris out!’ in an overnight attack. Guiri is a derogatory Spanish term used for tourists from Northern Europe.

Menys Turisme Més Vida announced a protest in Palma, a popular destination for Brits on the island of Majorca on July 26, which coincides with the start of the busiest school holiday season. Meanwhile there are protests planned in Menorca on June 13 with a similar anti-tourism sentiment.

In a statement on its website, the group said: “️We consider that the demands expressed during previous mobilisations have been ignored while problems such as the housing access crisis, tourist saturation, the destruction of the territory, the precariousness of living conditions and the pressure on public resources and services continue to worsen.

“Under the slogan ‘Majorca at the limit’, the call aims to once again demonstrate the strength of existing social unrest in the face of an economic model that continues to break tourism records while the living conditions of a growing part of the resident population worsen.”, it added.

The group claims that the protest has the support of 53 social , environmental, trade union, neighbourhood and cultural groups on the island, which sees nearly 13 million tourists annually, with Brits the second-largest percentage after Germany.

Majorca saw protests last June that organisers claim were attended by 30,000 people, although varying reports claim numbers from 5,000 to 8,000. This included reports of some people sitting on terraces being harassed by protestors. Another notable protest took place in Barcelona on June 15, 2025, in which smoke devices were used and tourists soaked with water pistols.

While there have been reports of a tourist slowdown in the Balearics and Canaries, anti-tourism protests do not seem to have a massive impact on visitor numbers. In April, the Canaries saw a drop in visitors of 8.3% compared to the year before, but this meant 1.2 million foreign tourists still visited the islands. It was also the first drop seen on the volcanic archipelago since the pandemic.

Over Easter, the Balearics reported a fall of nearly 20% in in-person tourist spending by card, despite an overall increase in spending across Spain as a whole, suggesting visitors were choosing to spend their money elsewhere.

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The Canary Islands are experiencing a tourism crisis, with activists warning the coastline is unsustainable as locals say the ‘land is being destroyed and speculated on’

The Canary Islands have witnessed mounting demonstrations in recent years. Frustration has been building amongst residents, who argue the surge in tourism to the sun-soaked Spanish archipelago is unmanageable. They point to outdated regulations that allow property speculators to purchase land for hotels and holiday flats, while paying only minimal tax.

Consequently, Canarians claim they receive the lowest average salaries in Spain and face difficulties securing affordable accommodation. Yet now they have a further complaint against holidaymakers. The islands are suffering coastal erosion at an alarming pace. Campaigners say the Canary Islands’ coastline is on the brink of disaster.

Each year, based on a report from SOS Costas Canarias, approximately 21⁄2 miles of coastline disappears. Anne Striewe, the foundation’s director, states that hotels, apartment blocks, housing estates and marinas, amongst other structures, are being constructed on this “lost” territory.

The organisation cautions that throughout the eight islands, roughly 18% of the territory within the first 500 metres from the sea has already been developed. Beyond protected natural areas (PNAs), this figure skyrockets: it surpasses 40% on multiple islands and coastal sections, reaching 43% in Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.

Nearly 20% of the living space on the Canary Islands is dedicated to tourism – in comparison to around 4% on the Spanish mainland. Five municipalities on the Canaries possess more tourist beds than permanent inhabitants: Yaiza (Lanzarote), Pájara (Fuerteventura), Mogán (Gran Canaria), San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) and Adeje (Tenerife).

Ms Striewe highlights that, beyond holiday accommodation, there is a vast array of tourist-related infrastructure including access roads, golf courses and desalination plants, which fail to show up in hotel occupancy figures yet remain part of the same problem.

Sharon Backhouse, director of GeoTenerife, told Sky News that the Canary Islands are a “biodiversity jewel in the Atlantic,” yet local authorities provide minimal protection for the islands’ natural habitats.

She warned that each year more “beautiful landscapes are cemented over” to make way for new tourist resorts.

She added: “The problem with these resorts is that we just don’t have enough resources in terms of water, what happens to all the rubbish, how is it all recycled.”

Carmelo Javier León, director of the UNESCO Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPCG), describes a conflict between those who wish to protect the islands’ natural beauty and “the development of ever more accommodation options.”

The authors of the SOS Costas Canarias report are demanding an immediate halt and the scrapping of planning permissions for undeveloped coastal land.

They argue that the seemingly relentless construction not only obliterates irreplaceable natural habitats and undermines the very scenic beauty that attracted tourists to the islands in the first place, but also dramatically heightens the risk of localised flooding. Approximately 80,000 inhabitants are already vulnerable to coastal flooding risk, yet almost half of flood-susceptible territory has already been designated for housing.

Irma Ferrer, a lawyer for Urban Planning Transparency and Civic Action Against Corruption, highlights that this demonstrates the institutions are failing to operate properly. “In urban planning and environmental matters, legislation is not enacted to defend the public interest,” she complains.

She added that the islands now possess an economy which is essentially “based on the destruction of the land and on speculation.”