As the wave of anti-tourism demonstrations that have gripped Europe in the last year looks set to continue, the worst holiday destinations due to overtourism have been revealed. This Sunday, 18 million protesters are set to take to the streets across Spain in a new mobilisation against the current tourism model.
Across the continent, as tourist numbers in popular hotspots rise with very limited controls, residents have shared concerns about issues with overcrowding, unaffordable housing prices and environmental damage. Now, consumer body Which? has analysed tourism data from the European Commission to highlight the destinations that holidaymakers may want to avoid. The European Commision defines overtourism using three measures – the number of tourists per resident, known as ‘tourism pressure’, the most overnight stays and overnight stays per square kilometre. A stunning Greek island has claimed the unfortunate top spot, with its residents hugely outnumbered by the number of visitors that descend.
The Greek island of Zakynthos, a summer resort in the Ionian Sea, has been named the worst destination in Europe for overtourism, the Which? research revealed. The island is most famous for its iconic shipwreck beach, Navagio, which has become so iconic that it is visited by thousands of tourists yearly.
Referring to the ratio of tourists to locals, Zakynthos, also known as Zante, was dubbed the “capital of overtourism”.
According to the 2021 census, just over 41,000 people live on the island. However, an eyewatering six million overnight stays were recorded in 2023, with the majority staying in resorts on the south coast.
This works out at 150 overnight stays for every local resident.
Which? travel editor Rory Boland said: “Many places have reached a tipping point. The negatives are becoming too significant to ignore.”
“Zante does not have the most visitors in absolute terms, but compared to residents, the volume of tourists is huge,” Which? said.
“The results of this level of tourism vary, but broadly it means a holiday there is mostly spent in the company of other tourists while shops, restaurants and cultural experiences will often be aimed (and priced) at tourists rather than locals.”
Croatia’s stunning Istrian peninsula, took second place, with 133 overnight tourist stays per resident. The popular Balkan country has continued to promote Istria as a “hidden gem”. However, these figures suggest the region is far from undiscovered.
The Canary Island of Fuerteventura took third place. Paris had the highest number of tourists per square kilometre at 418,280, while Majorca recorded the most overnight stays, over 51.1 million.
As a potential solution, the study has revealed some lesser-known Eastern European destinations which are begging for tourists, including parts of Romania and North Macedonia.