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.
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.
