Brits warned over trips to three popular European holiday hotspots
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Brits may want to avoid Europe's 'hyper-tourist' cities where locals are outnumbered by more than 20 to one. Issues over holiday hotspots overwhelmed by visitors have become more acute over the past year, with protests breaking out in Greece and Spain as locals grow tired of public services and roads becoming clogged, and rents shooting up as Airbnbs and hotels push prices higher and higher.
While Athens, Majorca, Malaga and Barcelona have been focal points of the unrest, a recent study from Money Transfers found that they are not among the destinations with the highest proportions of tourists to locals. The European spot with the most tourists per-capita is Heraklion in Greece, which has more than 6.5million annual visitors, according to the study. Last year its visitors numbers were up 7% from 2023, the Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism announced.
That means Heraklion has about 22 tourists per resident - an influx that can lead to overcrowding, particularly during peak tourist seasons. The attraction of the capital of Crete is clear, Heraklion being rich in history and culture, boasting attractions like the Palace of Knossos and several museums. However, the pressure from tourists can strain local resources and infrastructure.
Do you think overtourism is an issue in Europe? Email webtravel@reachplc.com or comment below. Locals in Crete are becoming frustrated at the numbers, with a recent piece of graffiti in nearby Chania reading 'migrants welcome, tourists can f*** off'. One unhappy citizen wrote on Reddit: "It's not nuclear science, overtourism is killing locals lives and local societies, the same is happening to every major destination. Accommodations, working conditions etc are killing the lives of locals and especially in a country like Greece, where all the important infrastructure, hotels etc are sold out the benefits of all that overtourism is minimum.".
