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The desire to see the most beautiful places in the world is quite romantic. Unfortunately, some “especially favorite” tourist destinations have begun to really suffer from an excessive number of tourists, especially during the warm season.

The research revealed three “winners” – the countries that suffer the most from overtourism. The first place was taken by a country with 4 tourists per local resident. That is, there are 4 times more tourists than locals.

The researchers came up with an “overtourism index” whose criteria included: the number of tourists per local resident, the number of tourists per square kilometer, the seasonality of recreation in the country, and the country’s sustainability maturity. For each criterion, the country was evaluated on a 5-point scale and received an average total score. Cities with critical indicators were also identified. These are not Croatia or Barcelona, but they are also in the top ten.

Third place – Dublin (Ireland)

Already in 2017, the number of “city guests” for the year amounted to 5.9 million, of which 94% were people who chose Denmark for vacation. At first glance, this may seem like a great indicator, as tourists significantly replenish the city’s budget, contribute to the creation of additional jobs and business development.

Unfortunately, in the context of Dublin, tourism has turned into overtourism and created a situation where local residents have to compete with tourists for services and space in the city. The focus of tourism on constant “growth” without regard to sustainability forces locals to flee the city center and not to count on comfort. The worst harm for the locals is the constant increase in the cost of living. Before summer, there is a significant jump in prices that does not decrease with the onset of the off-season. Among other things, the list of impacts of overtourism on Denmark includes: “inappropriate behavior of tourists,” “constant crowding, which increases the risk of disease,” “lack of affordable housing,” and more.

Second place – Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Amsterdam is visited by 20 million tourists every year. According to research, 58% of city guests visit Amsterdam to legally try drugs that are banned in other countries. In 2023, the city announced the start of the fight against overtourism. Thus, in 2024, it was planned to increase the tax on rental housing to 12.5% per room, and the tax for cruise ship passengers was also increased to 11 euros instead of 8 euros. The local authorities of Amsterdam emphasized that the difference in taxes will be used to help local residents pay for services. A tax for day-trippers is also planned.

A number of small laws were introduced: a ban on smoking cannabis in the red light district, limiting the operation of bars and restaurants in the center to 2 am (Friday, Saturday), restricting tourists in the Old Town after 1 am, combating souvenir shops and cheap hostels, and banning tourist buses from entering the city center. In this way, the authorities are trying to bring locals back to the tourist areas of the city.

First place – Vienna (Austria)

Austria has a population of 9 million people, while as a tourist destination, the number of visitors to the country reaches 32 million every year. The flow of tourists to Vienna continues to grow, forcing locals to look for new places to live.

Tourists themselves are no longer very comfortable in the constant crowds and are forced to look for small landscape towns like Halstatt, creating a critical situation there as well. The small town, which is a UNESCO heritage site, is already forced to deal with annoying visitors and limit the number of tourist buses that can enter the city. Although Vienna has a higher resilience index than the small landscape towns of Austria, the annual increase in tourists has already caused a rather critical situation, with local residents protesting to regulate the flow of tourists to Vienna.

Cyprus, Croatia, Barcelona, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal may join the top three countries in the “overtourism index”. Countries suffer the most in the summer or during the high season.