Some places particularly popular with travelers should be avoided in the summer. According to the Responsible Travel platform, which has created an interactive map of the places facing this phenomenon of overtourism, there are five places affected by tourist saturation in France, Europe and internationally.
After the resumption of tourism activities after Corona, the phenomenon of overtourism or “overtourism” is again in the foreground and affects many places around the world. While the French government presented a plan in mid-June to regulate the tourist flows that flood France’s tourist attractions at certain times of the year, the Responsible Travel platform lists more than a hundred of them worldwide.
A number that represents just “the tip of the iceberg,” according to the website, which relied on online research to compile this list, mentioning the phenomena of overtourism before and after the pandemic. Including many places that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage, including the Mont-Saint-Michel, which is visited by droves of travelers, especially in summer. Nuggets better discovered at other times of the year to take full advantage of them.
Mont Saint Michel in France
It’s taken by storm every year and 2023 could be a historic visit as Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Last year, 2.8 million visitors flocked to the streets, so that on August 18, 2022, more than 36,000 tourists were counted on a single day. An attendance record that raises many questions, including the setting of quotas.
Note that in France Etretat and the bays of Marseille are also among the most crowded places in summer. A quota system was also introduced for the Calanque de Sugiton inland area last year and renewed this summer, limiting access to 400 people per day. Last June, the Ile de Bréhat also set a quota, this time at 4,700 travelers per day.
Venice in Italy
To enjoy Venice, the low season is also key. The Serenissima, which was already inundated with tourists before the Corona crisis, has even been considering drastic measures since 2019, such as introducing a tax on tourists who only come for one day. Postponed several times, it could come into force from 2025, according to the e-venice website. Meanwhile, the Doge’s City, which receives an average of between 25 and 30 million tourists a year, its St. Mark’s Square and its canals are enjoyed all the more in spring, autumn or winter.
Dubrovnik in Croatia
Dubrovnik is also a symbol of overtourism. The Croatian city, which was attacked by cruise ships before the health crisis, has found scores of travelers strolling the streets of its medieval town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as tourist activity resumes. In order to avoid the mistakes of the past, the town hall also implemented several measures, such as limiting the number of visitors from cruise ships to 4,000 per day, TourMag recalls. In order to take full advantage of the city, the attractiveness of which was also increased by the series Game of Thrones, which was filmed partially in the city, it is better to give preference to periods other than summer.
Machu Picchu in Peru
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, Machu Picchu is the most visited site in Peru. Mass visits that over the years have led to the erosion of this Inca city built in the 15th century and discovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham.
Quotas have been in place since 2017 to preserve this site, located at 2,400 meters above sea level, whose number of visitors increased from 200,000 tourists in 1987 to over 1.5 million in 2019, before the pandemic, according to Géo magazine. Set at 4,044 visitors per day in 2022, the number of visitors had exceptionally increased to 5,000 daily visitors in August last year after protests s by tourists. The threshold of just over 4,000 day tourists applies again this year.
Maya Bay in Thailand
Maya Bay on the Thai island of Phi Phi Leh is the epitome of overtourism and was made famous by the film “The Beach” with Leonardi DiCaprio. So much so that in 2018 the site, whose coral beds were damaged by the overcrowded flow of tourists – between 6,000 and 5,000 a day – was closed to the public for a period of three years. Reopened to tourists in early 2022, access has since been restricted to around 400 day-trippers. However, from August 1 to September 30, 2022, it was closed again to protect its environment, the media Pattaya News also reports. Thailand is full of paradise places. Perhaps this summer it is better to give preference to other beaches in the country.