TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Overtourism has recently become a widespread problem among popular tourist destinations across the globe, sometimes to the point of driving a wedge between locals and visitors. According to a new research, one of the most popular islands in Europe has been crowned as the "capital of overtourism."
Popular tourist destinations such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece are still struggling to manage the bulk of visitors daily, with Venice even implementing a daily visitor tax to curb overtourism. Tenerife also plans to introduce a new ecological tax for tourists visiting Teide National Park.
Locals are also taking action to address overtourism, where residents of Barcelona last year took to using water pistols to disperse noisy tourists, while in Madrid, there were protests against rising rental prices due to holiday accommodations.
Excessive tourism has now become a crucial factor when planning a trip. A few years ago, people only considered the destination, accommodation, and perhaps planning a budget, but now they are thinking of ways to avoid crowd in some popular European tourist spots.
Destinations Most Affected by Overtourism
According to the latest Which? research, Zante, an island in Greece, has been named as the "capital of overtourism." This research used data from the European Commission tourism figures, which measure where overtourism most commonly occurs by looking at the number of tourists per resident and the number of overnight stays.
Zakynthos, also known as Zante, is famous for its vibrant nightlife and clubs. This Greek island, located in the Ionian Sea, is also home to stunning white sandy beaches and turquoise waters.
Which? notes that Zante only has 40,000 residents but recorded a whopping six million overnight stays, mainly along the southern coast, in 2023, equivalent to 150 stays for every resident.
Zante does not have the highest absolute number of visitors, but compared to the local population, the volume of tourists is huge. Overall, holidays there are mostly spent with other tourists, while shops, restaurants, and cultural experiences are often aimed at tourists rather than locals.
Several reviewers on TripAdvisor also complained about the crowd. "The sea is shallow, but crowded. The amount of rubbish and cigarette butts in the sand is so sad," writes one reviewer.
"When we visited the beach was overly busy, row upon row of sunbeds. It was all totally overcommercialized and noisy," writes another reviewer.
Although Zante does not receive as many visitors as Malaga, which welcomed 85 million foreign visitors in 2023, the island has the highest number of tourists compared to the actual population on the island.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which?, said that the latest research data has shown that overtourism has inundated some of the most popular destinations in Europe. "With so many fantastic places in Europe, the truth is, you are going to have a far better holiday in a destination where there are not hundreds or even thousands more tourists than there are locals," he said as reported by Metro UK.
He suggests visiting other destinations like Estonia, which has stunning coastlines and warm weather during the summer. Or if you want to visit Spain, Murcia could be the right choice.
Editor’s Choice: Arkadiko Bridge, One of World's Oldest Bridges Found in Greece
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